Evacuation order due to flooding lifted for homes in Fancy Lake area

Update: As of 3:15 p.m. AT Sunday, the state of local emergency and evacuation order for homes around Fancy Lake have been lifted. Read more here.

The evacuation order was lifted Sunday afternoon. Residents can return to their homes but should be prepared to leave again if conditions change. The evacuation centre at the NSCC in Bridgewater will close Monday at 5 p.m.

From earlier:

More than 400 homes in the Fancy Lake areanear Bridgewater, N.S., wereevacuated Saturday due to flooding caused byheavy rains and the removal of logs from a nearby dam, which has been partially opened to prevent a breach.

The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg issued a news release early Saturday afternoon urging those who live around Fancy Lake, including on "lands situated on Conquerall Mills Road from William Hebb Road to Conquerall Road to Highway 103 to Century Drive, including all of Trunk 3" to immediately leave the area.

A state of local emergency has been declared.

On Sunday, a news release from the municipalityasked people in the areato avoid unnecessary travel as crews assess damage.

It said water levels have stopped rising since Saturday, but they're still about 48 centimetres higher than normal.

BridgewaterMayor David Mitchell said the town was spared from the worst of the damage.

"We're one big family in Lunenburg County," Mitchell said.

"We are kind of the economic centre of the region so weserve the whole region and we're here to help each other. So that's definitely what we're doing."

Mitchell said a small provincially owned bridge on one of the town's main roads was damaged and one of the major roads into town from exit 13 on Highway 103 has been "significantly damaged."

In the Region of Queens Municipality,there isa voluntary evacuation order in place for residents of St. Catherine's River Road inPort Joli, beyond civic number 297, because the road is washed out.

A flyer distributed Saturday afternoon said there would be a one-time evacuation from the area by boat with the help of local fire departments and volunteers.

Residents would then be taken by busto the West Queen's Recreation Centre in Port Mouton.

Road repairs are expected to take about five days, the flyer said.

Elsewhere on the South Shore,residents along the Mersey River in Queens County, near Liverpool, have been toldto prepare a "go bag" in case an evacuation is required due to rising water levels.