With many homes still waterlogged and property damage estimated to exceed more than $3 million, many on the East Coast are concerned that their basic insurance policies will not cover the devastating flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Matthew.
The storm crashed into Atlantic Canada over the Thanksgiving weekend, knocking out power, sweeping away bridges, tearing up sections of road, submerging cars and flooding many homes. An estimated 225 millimetres of rain fell on Cape Breton over 24 hours.
Recovery efforts are now underway, to reconnect many communities in Newfoundland with the mainland, and to address the needs of property owners whose homes were flooded in Cape Breton, N.S.
But, as one lawyer told CTV Atlantic, most basic insurance policies do not cover the kind of damage caused by the storm. Basic plans will cover water damaged from a backed-up sewer, but they won't address over-land flooding that enters the home through doors or windows.
Anna May Muise and her daughter, Ellen Penny, say their insurer has refused to cover the damage to their one-storey home in Sydney, N.S.
"My house is destroyed," Muise told CTV Atlantic. "The water came up above four feet on the main level. I lost everything."
Muise says her policy indicates she should be covered, but her claims were rejected.
"We had coverage and today we don't," Penny said. She added that she's unsure if it's safe to go back in the house, because the area smells like oil. "Is it safe?" she asked. "No one's told us."
The Nova Scotia communities of Sydney and Glace Bay were the hardest-hit by the flooding, with extensive water damage and fallen trees throughout the two towns. The water is mixed with oil and sewage in some areas, making for a revolting smell.
Sump pumps are sold out at many hardware stores, as residents try to pump the water out of their homes. Gasoline is also in high demand in Sydney, where it's being used to power generators at homes that have been without hydro service for three days.
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil visited Sydney to survey the damage on Wednesday.
"We have to do a tally," he told residents. "There is a disaster relief program that needs to reach a ceiling of $3 million. From the pictures I've seen and that damage I've seen done, I think we'll reach that."
Standing in a washed-out baseball field, N.S. transportation minister Geoff MacLellan was awed by the damage.
"To carry away the fencing, the bleachers, some of the amenities that were here really is an indication of the magnitude of the storm," he said.
Nova Scotia Power says it has restored service to the vast majority of the 144,000 customers who were left in the dark after the storm hit. Only 1,358 homes remained without hydro service on Thursday afternoon.
Most schools in the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board re-opened on Thursday, with the exception of Brookland Elementary. Crews are still working to clear sewage- and oil-tainted water out of the facility, which is not expected to re-open for several months. Students are being redistributed to two other schools in the area.
A few schools cancelled classes in the middle of the day on Thursday due to power outages.
With files from CTV Atlantic
