HALIFAX — Three Nova Scotia counties on Cape Breton Island continue to remain under a local state of emergency this morning.

Nova Scotia Emergency Management’s alert Saturday evening says there is severe flooding and widespread damage.

It also says multiple roads are closed and conditions remain dangerous, warning people in the affected areas not to travel unless necessary.

The Island and parts of the northern mainland have been battered by rainfall for several days due to a slow-moving weather system.

Environment Canada has kept its orange warning in place for most of the Island’s northern areas, saying there will be an additional 10 to 20 millimetres of rain.

But the national weather service also forecasts the heaviest rain to taper off this morning, with some showers expected to continue into Monday.

Premier Tim Houston said Saturday evening that he went to a command centre in Post Hawkesbury, in south Cape Breton Island, to get an update on the damage across the region.

“Crews are assessing the damage, but we won’t know the full extent until after the storm ends and the floodwater recedes,” Houston said in a post to social media.

Houston said he continues to receive updates from Cape Breton officials, the provincial emergency management minister and the public works minister.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2026.

— By Eli Ridder in Fredericton.

The Canadian Press