Canada’s easternmost province was virtually paralyzed on Monday after a meter of snow fell over the weekend, a “historic” storm that prompted authorities to call in the military for snow removal.

The snowfall paralyzed transportation and transportation networks, closed businesses, schools and public institutions and caused power outages in Nova Scotia.

“Record amounts fell,” Bob Robisond, a Canadian meteorologist who described the storm as “historic,” explained to AFP.

“In some places, more than 100 centimeters fell,” he added, referring in particular to the Cape Breton region, in the Gulf of Saint Lorraine, where a state of emergency was declared.

On social networking sites, residents shared videos and photos of the storm, with some showing snow that had closed doors, others that had reached the roofs of houses, buried cars…

At Halifax International Airport, the provincial capital, many flights were delayed or canceled. The operation of public transport in the city was suspended.

Snow removal “will be difficult and take time,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston warned during a press conference yesterday afternoon.

He stressed that he has asked for help from the federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, especially the deployment of the military. The same request was made by the neighboring provinces of New Brunswick and Ile-de-Prince Edouard.

Canada’s Civil Protection Minister Harjit Sajjan said yesterday that he approved the requests and asked his agencies to consider what resources can be made available more quickly to advance their deployment. Ottawa, he assured, would loan equipment to Nova Scotia.

In January 2020, Canada’s military, seen as a last resort, deployed 150 of its troops to the neighboring province of Newfoundland after a storm paralyzed its capital, Saint-Jean.