Southwest coast of Newfoundland takes stock after torrential rainfall

People taking inventory of rainfall damages in the town of Channel-Port aux Basques say it hasn't been nearly as bad as initially feared.

Rainfall warnings have been in effect for Newfoundland's southwest coast since Friday, with heavy rain beginning Saturday and at one time up to 150 millimetres predicted. Warnings remain in effect overnight for the Burgeo-Ramea area. It's the tail end of the same system that hit Nova Scotia with unprecedented rainfall just days before.

"We've had a fair amount of rain. I think some reports are saying that we've had over 100 millimetres of rain thus far," Channel-Port aux Basques Mayor Brian Button told CBC News.

"I guess the biggest issue that we're having in town is that we have some ongoing construction that is happening in town."

The area around Brook Hill is a gravel road that been torn up for infrastructure updates. Due to heavy rains they've been seeing runoff, Button explained.

"That's making the road in deplorable shape, especially for the residents living there. I know it's got to be frustrating and it's equally frustrating for us, but it's kind of something that's out of our control," said Button.

Tallying damage

Wreckhouse News editor-in-chief René Roy says it could have been worse, especially when compared with what's happening in Nova Scotia.

"We've had some moderate sheets of rain come down, but it really hasn't lasted for like an hour or that kind of thing," said Roy. "It's quite overcast with a lot of rumbling thunder, but you know, I could go for a walk right now if I wanted to."

Button said they are getting reports of localized basement flooding but they're fortunately not getting the extreme damage that Nova Scotia has had.

"But that's no consolation for those residents that may be getting flooding at this time, which makes it very difficult for them. It seems like it's been an ongoing thing and it's becoming very, very frustrating for all involved," said Button.

Roy said he's sure there are instances of people's basements flooding when sump pumps failed. He has heard of a couple of roads that are compromised, like Gullages Lane, and advised people not to drive up that road.

"But for the most part I think we've gotten away really, really well," said Roy. "I haven't personally experienced a lot of worry in this storm that, you know, you might have experienced in [post-tropical storm] Fiona."

Access to rest of province

Button said three lanes of the four-lane highway are closed. If the highway closes, he added, the town will be cut off from the rest of the province, which would impact the community on a number of levels such as health care, he added.

"Rains are still coming down. So it is very concerning at this time."

Moreover, the rainfall is compounding road problems the area already had, he said. A year and a half ago there was a major washout that resulted in a section of the Trans-Canada Highway being cut off in four locations.

"It just seems like we're late off the mark getting work done and that needs to be improved," said Button.

"Rain events are happening more often and it seems like the days of getting 10, 20 millimetres of rain seems to be a thing of the past. It seems that we're always up to 50 to 100 to 100 plus and that becomes very worrisome and knowing if our systems can handle it."

Caution around washouts

Button added there have been reports of trailway washouts, such as the Osmond Point area and McDougall's area.

He is asking anyone travelling along those trails to proceed with caution. Railbeds are also closed in certain sections, he said, including the Cheeseman Provincial Park down to Port aux Basques.

Button also encouraged people to report washouts by posting online or directly to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.

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