Emergency after 'weather bomb' hits Canada

Canada’s Atlantic provinces of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia were in a state of emergency today as they began to dig out from under three feet of snow dumped by a fierce blizzard.

Thousands of people were without electricity, and most roads remained impassable. The Trans-Canada Highway into Nova Scotia was jammed with hundreds of articulated lorries.

Officials estimated it could take days to clear roads and runways.

Described as a weather bomb by government forecaster Environment Canada, the storm obliterated Halifax’s one-day snowfall record of 20 inches set in 1944.

In some areas, wind gusts of up to 60 mph) pushed much of the snow into huge drifts, reducing four-lane roads to narrow walking paths.

“We’re telling people, particularly in the residential areas if there’s an emergency we’ll get to you. But, don’t stand in the window waiting for the plough to come,” said John O’Brien, communications director for Halifax Regional Municipality.