CORNER BROOK — West coast communities suffered little damage from tropical storm Leslie, which hit the island in the early morning hours Tuesday.
By the evening, the water had cleared up and the sun was shining.
An estimated 100-plus millimetres of rain was suspected to have come down, but very few areas on this part of the island saw that according to Chris Fogarty of the Canadian Hurricane Centre.
The areas that received the most rainfall were the region’s highest elevations, such as the Lewis Hills, along with the Gros Morne area, but Cow Head saw 108 mm of precipitation, he said.
Corner Brook and Stephenville got rainfall between 60-70 mm, in a 48-hour period, including the prefront that came before the storm.
According to Environment Canada’s website, winds in the region kept mostly below 40 km/h.
Some places, such as La Scie recorded wind gusts upward of 80 km/h.
Although little damage and flooding came directly from Leslie, Department of Transportation and Works road crews are still working to repair damage to roads from the prefront precipitation that landed Monday.
Crews continued repairs Tuesday to Route 450 in York Harbour where traffic was reduced to one lane in sections because of a large washout. A considerable amount of the sea-side shoulder gave away, and crews had to fill the area with rock, with work continuing today.
Route 463 in West Bay was closed for over a day because of flooding and was expected to be re-opened late Tuesday evening.
Luckily, Fogarty said there are no new tropical storms or hurricanes headed this way in the next few weeks.
“We get rid of (Leslie),” he said. “And get into more dryer, fall-like conditions.”
Steve May, director of operation with the City of Corner Brook, said there was no large amount of residental flooding reported to the city.
With extra crew members on the overnight shift Monday the city was able to handle the few minor issues that arose.
There were some instances were water flowed over a curb or into a parking lot, which is normal for any rainfall, said May.
Pasadena Mayor Gary Bishop was pleased to say his Humber Valley town escaped unharmed.
“We didn’t get anywhere near the amount of rainfall we anticipated,” he said.
Bishop said there were concerns about brooks in the area overflowing, but none of the anticipated hazards came to fruition.
St. Anthony town manager Curtis Richard, said the impact of Leslie was nearly non-existant on the Northern Peninsula.
“No damage to any of (municipal) infrastructure and no calls regarding damage to private property, Richard said. “It’s just a regular rain storm for us.”
However, NL West BOI SPCA reported a serious flooding issue at its shelter in Curling. Heavy rains caused the storm drains to back up, flooding the area with a few inches of rain runoff and septic water, said president LeeAnn O’Reilly.
She said a few thousand dollars worth of animal food and toys were ruined, as well as a freshly painted floor was destroyed.
Luckily, the animals were not impacted having already being moved from the area.
