Floodwaters have begun to recede, but many thousands are still without power in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, as emergency crews struggle to repair the massive damage caused by heavy rains and high winds on Monday.

There are more than 8,100 Nova Scotia Power customers in the municipality who still don't have electricity and another 1,300 customers without power in other parts of the province. The utility estimates most of the customers in Cape Breton should have their power restored by 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said he has been in contact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose office is being briefed on the situation in Cape Breton.

'Winter is coming'

McNeil said the province and municipality are still tallying the cost of the damage, but that an application is being prepared to get disaster-relief funding from the federal government.

"We are focused on the human need now," said McNeil, adding that the priority is restoring people's basic human needs, including power, water and heat.

"Winter is coming."

Upwards of 175,000 Nova Scotia Power customers have lost power since Monday after record-breaking rains and high winds knocked over trees, flooded homes and ate away at roads. Since then, crews have managed to get the lights back on for about 165,000 customers.

Water and electricity don't mix and that's making restoration especially difficult for Nova Scotia Power crews. (Nova Scotia Power/Twitter)

Sydney's 225 millimetres of rain shattered its previous record for extreme daily rainfall, set when 128.8 millimetres fell on Aug. 17, 1981.

Nova Scotia Power had 122 power line crews and 27 tree trimming crews on the job Wednesday. As electrical crews finish work in other parts of the province, they will be sent to Cape Breton to aid with restoration efforts.

Even with all those helping hands, there's still a lot of dangerous work ahead.

"Floodwaters and inaccessible roads — there's been quite a bit of damage in those areas," said Beverly Ware, spokeswoman for Nova Scotia Power. "It has made it difficult to access these areas. So that's where our crews will be focusing today."

The utility is working with the province's Emergency Management Office to determine which roads are free of water and passable, so its crews can do their work.

After struggling with unseasonably dry conditions all summer, Thanksgiving Monday brought record-setting rainfall amounts across Nova Scotia. 1:42

"Water and electricity do not mix, so this can be quite a dangerous situation for our customers and for our power line crews. So safety has to be the top priority here," said Ware.

Waters around the municipality are starting to recede, revealing even more damage that had been hidden in murky floodwaters polluted by furnace oil and sewage.

More than two and a half metres of mud, furnace oil, flood water and sewage covered this car on Tuesday. Flood waters have begun receding. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)

With roads washed out and power out some people may be completely cut off from help, said George Muise, eastern emergency management planning officer for EMO.

"The priority is really centred around those who may be isolated from emergency services and those type of things, they're the one's being worked on first," he said.

"Some of the main thoroughfares and some of the roadways will done once we make sure everybody is safe."

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More than a thousand homes suffered water damage of some kind, according to Cecil Clarke, the mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Three comfort centres were set up to help people who couldn't stay in their homes. Muise said one of those centres was turned into a shelter Tuesday night.

"The shelter last night looked after a couple of families, so maybe about 10 people. But there's been people that have been dropping in and out of the comfort centres to get information, to get warmed up and to get a bite to eat," said Muise.