‘Why was the road open?’: Family of N.S. flood victim demands answers, questions alert readiness | 24CA News
It doesn’t make sense to Robie Holland that — as 250 millimetres of rain poured down in rural Nova Scotia — there was nothing to cease his father from travelling down a quickly flooding highway.
“Why was the road open? That’s the main question I keep coming back to …. It was flooding, and it wasn’t safe for people to be going down those roads. Why, if you’re out in the rural communities, is it a free-for-all?” he requested in an interview Friday.
“In my eyes, this was an avoidable situation.”
Nicholas Holland, 52, was among the many 4 individuals who died within the historic, inland flooding on July 22, as torrential waters poured over rural Route 14 close to Brooklyn, N.S. — northwest of Halifax — and swept two autos right into a hayfield.
Robie Holland, 25, and his sister Sophie Holland, 23, stated in an interview that whereas they’re grateful for the efforts of searchers that night time, an unbiased probe is required to reply questions in regards to the response to the flooding catastrophe.
Questions embrace why there was a delay after a request at 1:22 a.m. from the deputy chief of the Brooklyn volunteer hearth division for a Ready Alert telling drivers to remain off the highway. The alert was despatched by provincial emergency administration officers at 3:06 a.m., about half an hour after police say the taxi carrying Holland and three others went within the water.
“If they’re on the highway stranded and they’d had an alert saying, ‘Don’t go down to this area,’ they wouldn’t have gone there. They’re going to change their plans,” Robie Holland stated.
Holland’s two kids stated they’ve realized from survivors’ accounts that after their father, a rock musician, completed taking part in a present in Windsor, N.S., within the early hours of July 22, he and his girlfriend set off for his or her residence in close by St. Croix. However, his companion’s automotive stalled in water pooled on the freeway.
The Holland siblings say the 2 known as a taxi and the motive force continued in the direction of their residence. As the cab was going round a nook on Route 14 it was swept right into a hayfield by churning waters.
Robie Holland stated his father — who had a broken knee from an accident years earlier — nonetheless managed to kick the home windows out of the automotive, permitting the 4 inside to flee the sinking car. “He gave everyone a chance to survive,” he stated.
The son stated his father’s girlfriend and the taxi driver managed to cling onto objects that prevented them from being swept away, however the driver’s daughter, 14-year-old Terri-Lynn Keddy, was carried by the present, as was Holland, who was not a powerful swimmer
Searchers have since recovered the our bodies of Holland and Keddy. Two six-year-old kids, Colton Sisco and Natalie Harnish, died when one other car went off the highway at about the identical time.
Robie and Sophie Holland stated it comforts them to recall their father’s efforts to assist others and the dedication of searchers who spent days on the lookout for the our bodies. “I’m sad, but I’m thankful for them,” stated Sophie.
But they are saying they continue to be troubled by the shortcoming of the province and emergency administration officers to react extra rapidly in rural areas.
Robie stated that by 9 p.m. on the night time of the torrential rainfall, he was being turned away by police on streets in Halifax, and this left him questioning why comparable blockades weren’t in place within the Municipality of West Hants the place his father died.
Meanwhile, Sophie Holland, a physiotherapist, stated her era is dealing with deepening challenges from local weather change and she or he’s on the lookout for higher preparations from governments in any respect ranges.
“(Political leaders) say ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims,’ but if you’d done something earlier, things might be different,” she stated.
Blair Feltmate, director of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation on the University of Waterloo, is amongst these calling for an unbiased overview to look at shortcomings in Nova Scotia’s storm response. His centre gave Nova Scotia a grade of C in a 2019 examine assessing provinces’ flooding preparedness.
It famous the province was the one one in Atlantic Canada that delegates accountability for flood plain mapping to native governments, and that the province “does not provide incentives for the relocation of developments from flood plain zones.”
The provincial Department of Public Works stated Friday it couldn’t present particulars about highway closures in the course of the storm. “Staff continue to work hard to restore access to damaged roads and bridges impacted by the extreme flooding,” spokesperson Gary Andrea stated. “We will be reviewing measures taken during the July 21 weekend once our work is complete.”
Sophie and Robie Holland say they’re on the lookout for enhancements to occur rapidly.
“Are we prepared?” requested Sophie. “What changes are we going to make going forward? Obviously we weren’t prepared for this.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Aug. 12, 2023.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
