Thousands of Nova Scotia residents were without power Sunday afternoon, a day after tropical storm Earl moved through the province with heavy rains and 130-kilometre-an-hour winds.

The storm tore down trees and power lines throughout the province Saturday. Metro Halifax was among the worst-hit areas.

Some 220,000 residents lost electricity at the storm's peak, according to a spokesperson for Nova Scotia Power. By Sunday evening, about 5,000 residents remained without power, the company said.

A utility spokesperson said it has around 500 employees working to restore the province's electricity grid. Some 40 crews also arrived from neighbouring provinces to lend a hand.

Power to most homes should be restored by late Sunday, Nova Scotia Power said, though it may take longer in some remote areas.

The RCMP was advising people to avoid travelling in the province due to debris from the storm.

"This will allow the cleanup efforts to be completed in a safe and timely fashion," the Mounties said in a news release.

One of Nova Scotia Power's employees was taken to hospital after getting a shock while fixing power lines downed by the storm in Cape Breton.

The man was working in a bucket in the Sydney area Saturday evening when high winds caused him to get snarled in live wires, police said. His partner on the ground rushed to a nearby pole and hit the switch to turn off the power, police said.

Stacey Pineau, a spokeswoman for the utility, said the lineman received a minor shock and should be well enough to return to work today as crews continue to clean up after the storm.

Earl is also being blamed for the death of a man who drowned while swimming to shore from a boat outside Halifax.

The storm disrupted air travel as well, grounding flights at a number of airports in the region, including Halifax and Moncton, N.B. Travel restrictions were also in effect for the Confederation Bridge that links New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, due to high winds.

New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were largely spared by Earl, which was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm shortly after reaching the south coast of Nova Scotia.

Earl then moved north towards Newfoundland, felling trees and cutting power lines there.

With files from The Canadian Press