Nova Scotia Residents Digging Out After Storm Drops 150 cm of Snow

Huge snowbanks at Dream Stables, a horse-riding and boarding stable in Mira, Nova Scotia, after parts of the province got dumped with about 150 centimeters of snow. Courtesy of Dream Stables

Residents of Nova Scotia are digging out after about 150 centimeters of snow fell in various regions last weekend.

Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) declared a state of local emergency due to the large amounts of snow that accumulated in that area, something residents say they are still trying to clear from their properties. Parts of Prince Edward Island were also impacted by the snowstorm.

“On Friday, we started to get pretty snowed in, and by Saturday morning it was really bad. It continued all day Saturday—it just kept falling,” Deanna Peters, owner of Dream Stables, a horse-riding and boarding stable in Mira, N.S., told The Epoch Times.

“Just trying to walk to my brother’s house, which is right next door, it was up over my head, and I’m 5’11. There’s a couple of times we didn’t think we were going to get out because we were up to our necks.”

CBRM has advised residents to “shelter in place” and “clear snow from their home’s entryways, walkways, and driveway” as well as ventilation points.

Ms. Peters said that her husband, brother, and father had two trucks trying to clear the snow from the farm.

“We don’t have a lot of space because the snow is everywhere. You can only move it to so many spots.”

About two and a half hours west of Mira in Antigonish, Ashley Armsworthy said some residents were stuck in their homes because the snow was so deep.

“A lot of people, their doors are blocked with snow, or their windows are blocked with snow. It’s just crazy when you think about it,” she told The Epoch Times in a phone interview.

“As a kid, we’ve had a lot of snow but we don’t get this type of weather very often, and so no one’s really prepared for this anymore.”

She said that the snow on the East Coast is often heavy due to the moisture in the air.

“It makes it really difficult to move. It’s heavy to shovel, it’s heavy to snow-blow.”

Ottawa Offers Help

The federal government said on Feb. 6 that it would be helping the area with clearing snow, including using the Canadian Coast Guard to deliver supplies and rescue those who are isolated.

“Canadian Coast Guard helicopters will deliver vital supplies to those affected by this heavy winter storm in Atlantic Canada,” Diane Lebouthillier, minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, said in a press release.

“We stand ready to evacuate any isolated or at-risk individuals and bring them to safety, and we are ready to support with snow removal efforts on the ground.”

Government offices and courthouses were closed in some areas, according to the provincial government.

Ms. Armsworthy said schools were closed, including nearby Francis Xavier University, but that crews had been working to clear the roads and ensure that essential services like ambulances were able to get around.

“People come together on the East Coast. They do all over, but you notice it here and everyone’s trying to help each other out,” she said.

“We’re going get through it. It is what it is, and we‘ll just keep working together and we’ll get through it.”