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Weekends are usually quiet for Tyson McEwan of McEwans Towing, but he has already recovered about 20 vehicles so far this weekend.
McEwan, whose Havre Boucher business is based in Antigonish County near the Canso Causeway, was in Halifax when the storm first hit. “I came home to my phone blowing up, having to go rescue people,” he said Sunday morning.
Cape Breton was hardest hit by the deluge, with more than 200 millimetres of rain falling over parts of the island.
One person was found dead in a flooded area near Cleveland, N.S.
However, the mainland wasn’t immune to heavy rain.
One of McEwan’s most notable rescues occurred in St. Francis Harbour in Guysborough County. A driver heading to work early Saturday morning was travelling along Carr Road where it crosses Porper Pond.
“It was still dark out and … it looked like a puddle to him,” McEwan said. “He didn’t even realize there was much water.”
The front end of the truck plunged into the water. By the time McEwan arrived hours later, the force of the current had turned the vehicle sideways.
McEwan, who has provided towing services in Nova Scotia for six years, said he has never seen conditions this severe.
“We had to take alternate routes just to get to him,” McEwan said, adding there were three washouts on that road alone.
High winds battered his tow truck on the drive, and compromised road shoulders forced him to drive down the middle of the roadway for safety.
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