Paul Burt is Manager of Building, Planning & Licensing Laws with the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. He also sits on the provincial standards development committee for the built environment.

Paul Burt, CBRM's manager of building, planning and licensing, said about 600 derelict homes needed to be torn down two years ago, but that is down to 480.

'We're on a red zone here that stretches from the Sunshine Coast down to the NSW border,' Paul Burt said while reporting live from the ground. 'You cannot be on the beach, you can't be in the water.