2023 Nova Scotia floods

Last updated
2023 Nova Scotia floods
DateJuly 21-22, 2023
CauseHeavy rains
Deaths4
Property damage$200 million (2023 USD) [1]

The 2023 Nova Scotia floods were a series of floods in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. [2] [3] Areas in Nova Scotia received 250mm (9.8 inches) of rain in a 24 hour period, causing flash floods. [4]

On July 22, 2023, a state of emergency was declared in the province, scheduled to last two weeks, ending on August 5. The floods greatly affected the municipalities of Halifax, East Hants, West Hants, as well as the counties of Lunenburg and Queens [5] with estimates of up to 300 millimetres of rain in parts of the province. [6]

Aftermath

Following the flooding, four people were reported missing. The body of a missing man was found in West Hants on July 24 and unidentified remains of a missing person were found in nearby Kings County. [7] [8] The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced on July 25, 2023, that the remains of two children were found in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, which included the unidentified body that was found the previous day, bringing the death toll to three. [4] The remaining missing person, an unidentified youth under 18 years of age, remained missing with the search suspended on July 31. Remaining high water impeded the search area, and plans were made to resume the search once the search area drained, [9] but the body was discovered on August 1st, [10] by a citizen walking their dog, approximately 75 kilometers away from the site of the disappearance. [11]

Many roads, highways, driveways, and bridges were damaged or washed out. The province announced that 500 sections of roadway and 48 bridges across the province had been damaged. [12] The only train line connecting the Port of Halifax to the rest of the country was damaged, with a section south of Truro, Nova Scotia, being washed out. The train line was repaired and operational by Thursday July 27th. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Juan</span> Category 2 Atlantic hurricane in 2003

Hurricane Juan was a significant tropical cyclone which caused extensive damage to parts of Atlantic Canada, being the tenth named storm and the sixth hurricane of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Juan formed southeast of Bermuda on September 24 from a tropical wave that had tracked across the subtropical Atlantic Ocean. It tracked northward and strengthened over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, reaching Category 2 strength on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale on September 27. The hurricane peaked in intensity with sustained winds of 105 mph (169 km/h) that same day, losing some strength as it raced over cooler waters toward the coast of Nova Scotia, before making landfall between Shad Bay and Prospect in the Halifax Regional Municipality early on September 29 as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h). Juan retained hurricane strength while travelling through Nova Scotia, though it would weaken into a Category 1 hurricane over Prince Edward Island. Juan would eventually be absorbed by another extratropical low on September 29 near Anticosti Island in the northern Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

Enfield is an urban community located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Halifax Stanfield International Airport in the Shubenacadie Valley on the border of Hants and Halifax counties in Nova Scotia, Canada. Specifically, Enfield exists in both the East Hants Municipal District and Halifax and is divided by the Shubenacadie River.

Trevor John Zinck is a former Canadian politician. He served as the member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly (MLA) for the riding of Dartmouth North as a New Democrat and also as an Independent. He was first elected for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the 2006 election, succeeding retiring NDP MLA Jerry Pye. He served as the Community Services critic for the NDP and was re-elected in the 2009 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Nova Scotia general election</span> Canadian provincial election

The 1998 Nova Scotia general election was held on March 24, 1998 to elect members of the 57th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Liberal party and the New Democratic Party tied in the seat count, with 19 each, while the Progressive Conservatives won 14 seats. The Liberals went on to form a minority government with the support of the Progressive Conservatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen McNeil</span> Canadian politician

Stephen McNeil is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Nova Scotia, from 2013 to 2021. He also represented the riding of Annapolis in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2003 to 2021 and was the leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party from 2007 to 2021.

The 2007 Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election was held on April 27, 2007 at the Dartmouth Sportsplex, following the resignation of Francis MacKenzie, shortly after failing to win a seat in the 2006 election. This was the third leadership convention for the Liberals since 2002. In addition to the leadership convention, the party will hold its Annual General Meeting including the election of officers, adoption of policies, and potential constitutional amendments. It was won by Annapolis MLA Stephen McNeil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Nova Scotia general election</span> Canadian provincial election

The 2009 Nova Scotia general election was held on June 9, 2009 to elect members of the 61st House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The government was defeated on a money bill on May 4, and the Nova Scotia House of Assembly was dissolved by Lieutenant Governor Mayann Francis on May 5. thereby triggering an election. The NDP won a majority government, forming government the first time in the province's history, and for the first time in an Atlantic Canadian province. The governing Progressive Conservatives were reduced to third place.

Kelly Maureen Regan is a Canadian politician who served in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2009 to 2024, most recently as the MLA for Bedford Basin. She was first elected as the Member for Bedford-Birch Cove. She is a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zach Churchill</span> Canadian politician from Nova Scotia

Zachariah John Churchill is a Canadian politician and activist from Nova Scotia. He has served as the leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party from 2022 to 2024 and as the leader of the Opposition from 2022 until 2024. He served as the member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Yarmouth, first elected from 2010 until 2024. He has served as a cabinet minister in various portfolios, most notably as minister of health and wellness, in the Stephen McNeil and Iain Rankin ministries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Houston</span> Canadian politician

Timothy Jerome Houston is a Canadian politician who is the 30th and current premier of Nova Scotia since 2021. He was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, he represents the electoral district of Pictou East. Houston also served as the leader of the opposition from 2018 to 2021. He and the Progressive Conservative party won a majority government in the 2021 Nova Scotia general election, becoming the first Progressive Conservative premier since 2009. He called a snap election in 2024, increasing his party's majority mandate.

Lena Metlege Diab is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, she represented the electoral district of Halifax Armdale until 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Rankin</span> Canadian politician

Iain Thomas Rankin is a Canadian politician who served as the 29th premier of Nova Scotia from February 23, 2021, to August 31, 2021. He serves in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, representing the electoral district of Timberlea-Prospect. Rankin was first elected in the 2013 Nova Scotia general election and was re-elected in the 2017 general election. On February 6, 2021, Rankin was announced the Leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halifax Pride</span> Annual LGBT event in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax Pride is an LGBT pride festival, held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the largest 2SLGBTQ+ event in Atlantic Canada, and one of the largest 2SLGBTQ+ pride events in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Nova Scotia general election</span> Canadian provincial election

The 2021 Nova Scotia general election was held on August 17, 2021, to elect members to the 64th General Assembly of Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Nova Scotia attacks</span> Series of murders in Canada

On April 18 and 19, 2020, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman committed multiple shootings and set fires at sixteen locations in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, killing twenty-two people and injuring three others before he was shot and killed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the community of Enfield. The attacks are the deadliest shooting rampage in Canadian history, exceeding the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, where fourteen women were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Nova Scotia general election</span> Canadian provincial election

The 2024 Nova Scotia general election was held on November 26, 2024, to elect members to the 65th General Assembly of Nova Scotia. The election was held under first-past-the-post voting.

The November 2021 Atlantic Canada floods are a series of floods that affected Atlantic Canada, along with eastern areas of Quebec. The floods, similar to those that occurred in the Pacific Northwest a few days prior, were caused by an atmospheric river. Due to the intensity of the rainfall, a state of emergency was declared in Inverness and Victoria counties in Cape Breton Island. Additionally, the intensity of the rainfall resulted in part of the Trans Canada Highway being closed just north of Port-aux-Basques in Newfoundland.

Dylan Ehler is a Canadian boy whose disappearance on May 6, 2020 at the age of 3 became the subject of much media interest. His parents, Ashley Brown and Jason Ehler, criticized what they regarded as shortcomings in the initial police investigation. They also filed suit under provincial cyberbullying law against two administrators of a social media group that had hosted messages suggesting the parents were negligent or responsible for the death of their son.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diem Saunders</span> Inuk writer and activist from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada (d. 2021)

Diem Saunders was an Inuk writer and activist from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, who advocated for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

References

  1. "Q3 Global Catastrophe Recap October 2023" (PDF). Aon Benfield . Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  2. Carballo, Rebecca (22 July 2023). "Four Remain Missing After Torrential Rains in Nova Scotia". The New York Times.
  3. Williams, Nia (23 July 2023). "Nova Scotia wrestles with aftermath of devastating floods". Reuters.
  4. 1 2 Nadine Yousif (July 25, 2023). "Canada floods: \". BBC News .
  5. Scotia, Communications Nova (11 May 2018). "Provincewide State of Emergency Declared". News Releases.
  6. Mitchell, Kalin (24 July 2023). "Extreme rain in Nova Scotia exceeds once-in-a-century event". CTV News.
  7. Andrew Sampson (July 24, 2023). "Body of 52-year-old man, unidentified human remains, recovered after devastating N.S. floods". CBC News .
  8. Nadine Yousif (July 24, 2023). "Nova Scotia floods: Body found of one of four missing". BBC News .
  9. Josh Hoffman (July 31, 2023). "Search suspended for youth missing in N.S. floods". CBC News .
  10. Natalie Lombard (August 2, 2023). "Body of teenager who went missing in Nova Scotia flood believed to have been found". CTV News .
  11. Aly Thomson (August 2, 2023). "Remains believed to be final missing victim of historic N.S. floods have been found". CBC News .
  12. Lyndsay Armstrong (July 27, 2023). "'Crews are working around the clock': N.S. has so far repaired 500 sections of roads damaged by torrential rain storms". CTV News .
  13. Alex Cooke (July 28, 2023). "CN Rail reopens Nova Scotia link cut off by recent floods in under a week". Global News .