Heavy rain and high temps result in flooding, washouts & landslides across western N.L.

Friday, 29 March 2024 16:53

By Kody Gardner

This home was toppled over by a landslide at Big Brook, near Lark Harbour. (Patti Lynn MacDonald/Town of Lark Harbour)

Some have reported 60+mm of rain on home weather stations over the past day, with Environment Canada forecasting another 10-20mm Friday night.

While that Spring feeling may be in the air, residents of Western Newfoundland are certainly feeling the effects of it with high temperatures and heavy rain over the Easter long weekend.

Arlene Banks photo Localized flooding and several landslides hit the outer Bay of Islands leading into Good Friday, even knocking a home off its foundation near the Big Brook area of Lark Harbour, and taking out a lane of Route 450 early in the morning.

A washout is also slowing down traffic on Route 440 near Hughes Brook as of suppertime Friday, as shown left courtesy of Arlene Banks. Crews from the Department of Transportation & Infrastructure are currently on scene and have one lane closed as a precaution.

In Corner Brook, City crews also shut down Riverside Drive between Humber Road and the Ballam Bridge around 5:45 p.m., and O’Connell Drive between Boones Road and Bliss Street just after 6 p.m. This is due to high water levels and runoff crossing the street.

Similar conditions have been reported on the Port-au-Port Peninsula where overflowing rivers have washed out sections of the highway in several communities, including at Rouze’s Brook in Cape St. George. There, crews are on-site with heavy machinery to deal with a culvert that has turned virtually upright due to the influx of water, as shown below.

Just to let u all know the road at Rouzes brook is washed out and gonna give way any minute . The culvert is floating .. not sure if they are letting vechiles through
Posted by Mary Marjorie Rouzes on Friday, March 29, 2024

More wet weather is expected into Saturday, with Environment Canada forecasting another 10-20mm for the Corner Brook area overnight.

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