Meeting in Windsor, N.S., to discuss fallout from recent floods

The mayor of West Hants is hosting a meeting tonight at the Windsor community centre to discuss the fallout from July's floods.

Mayor Abraham Zebian says the meeting is followup to a meeting in nearby Brooklyn 10 days ago. About 25 people who attended had questions about who was responsible for infrastructure repair following the flash floods.

The mayor says there is still a lot of damage that hasn't been fixed — and a lot of questions from residents.

"Shoulders on the roads are still out," he said. "Bridges are still out. Highway 1 — the main thoroughfare — is still out.

"There's property damage and a lot of residents can't even fix their property until certain sections of provincial roads are fixed."

At the previous meeting, residents had questions about how to get financial assistance. They wanted to know who is responsible for repairing damaged dikes, dams and impassable trails, and when will that work be finished.

The mayor said most of that work is provincial responsibility. But he said he and his emergency management staff are prepared to hear them out and try to help get answers.

"They're our neighbours," Zebian said. "And we've taken it upon ourselves to help search for those answers and get that to them so they don't have to try to navigate all three levels of government."

Officials from the provincial Department of Public Works are expected to be at the meeting along with officials from Nova Scotia Mental Health and Addictions.

Zebian said post-tropical storm Lee triggered a lot of anxiety in and around Windsor on the weekend. The impact of another storm on top of this summer's flash flooding has many there on edge.

He said the meeting is simply a way to find out what the community needs to heal.