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Heavy rainfall is expected to continue in parts of Cape Breton Monday, following torrential rain throughout the weekend.
More than 200 millimetres of rain fell over parts of the island over the weekend, destroying roads, culverts and bridges while triggering local states of emergency across three counties — Richmond, Inverness and Victoria — which remain in place.
On Monday morning, Environment Canada issued rainfall warnings for eastern Cape Breton, including metro Sydney and Cape Breton and Victoria counties, but it has since lifted those warnings. Those warnings expected 25 to 40 millimetres of rain.
Nova Scotia RCMP said a 46-year-old Cape Breton woman reported missing Saturday morning was found dead later in the day in a flooded area of Richmond County.
Warden Lois Landry told the CBC’s Information Morning Monday that the unprecedented rainfall has devastated local infrastructure, cutting off multiple communities, including an area near River Bourgeois.
Landry said the major priority for emergency crews on Monday is opening up at least one access route to the area.
Jackie Organ, warden of Victoria County, said they are still waiting for an assessment from local emergency services of the area around Iona before lifting the state of emergency.
“There’s more damage over there than they thought, so they just want to be cautious and assess it more today,” Organ said.
Organ urged motorists to take extra care on the roads and contact local officials if they run into problems.
Heavy rainfall over the weekend prompted a mandatory water conservation notice for residents of Inverness County on Monday morning.
Flooding washed heavy silt and mud into the water source at the dam in Judique, overwhelming the treatment plant’s capacity and forcing its closure, according to the municipality.
Residents are asked to limit water use to essential needs until further notice.
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