Cape Breton prepares for more rain after historic flood

Cape Breton Regional Mayor Cecil Clarkesays he's "petrified" ofa looming rainstorm asthe Sydney area continues to recover from severe flooding less than two weeks ago.

A specialweather statement issued byEnvironment Canada predicts heavy rains could cause more flooding this weekend in areas of the municipality badly damaged by more than 200 millimetresof rain onThanksgiving Day.

It's not yet known whether theweekend storm willactually cause trouble inCape Breton, but the picture will become clearerearly Friday morning,Clarke said Thursday.

People, get ready

Public workscrewsare preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. The municipalityis asking people to prepare for more power outages and high water.

"Quite frankly, I'm petrified about the potential of a major weather event on top of what we've just experienced," Clarke saidat a media briefing.

"If you get the level of potential rain of over 100 millimetres again, the water courses have been changed, in some places foundations are compromised, soeven a modest rainfall could have a very much larger impact."

How much is too much?

The municipality'spublic works manager, John Phalen, saideverything depends on the amount of rain.

"If we get 30 or 40 millimetres, we are very confident there will be no issues," he said. "[If we get]100 millimetres in 12hours, there may be."

Municipal infrastructure in still in pretty good shape, said Phalen,and all public workscrews are ready.

Crews have been cleaning catch basins and clearing debris fromwaterways.

New furnaces coming

The mayor saidwith a cold spell predicted for next week, the priority now is to get heating systems into flood-damaged homes belonging to people withno insurance coverage.

• What you need to know about insurance after the Cape Breton flood

The province is helping, he said.

"Already from the provincial government, they've offered assistance if we need to resource or source furnaces,not only sourced, but transported here if need be."

Rebuilding: what makes sense?

Clarke saidthe municipality is stillconsidering declaring a no-development zone in Sydney's south end, where at least 20 homes have been declared unfit to occupy after flooding.

A decision will be made only in consultation with homeowners, Clarke said,but the result could be that their houses are demolished, the arearemediatedand a moratorium imposed onfuture development.

"Right now, my concernis the length of time, the cost of trying to assess environmentally, to look at the remedial work that's necessary," Clarke said. "And then there isalso the emotional impact of people feeling that theirhome is not worth anything anymore and worried about future events."

• Sydney flooded home inspections begin, many properties likely unsafe

Overall,between 2,500 and 3,000 people have been affected by the flood, along with as many as1,000 pets.

"That's a lot of people and humanitarianinterest that we have to take a look at," Clarke said.