HALIFAX - After lashing Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, what was left of hurricane Bill moved out to sea Monday, leaving parts of Atlantic Canada wind-whipped and soaked in its wake.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre downgraded Bill from a tropical storm to a post-tropical storm as it grew weaker and moved away from Canada's East Coast and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Storms become known as post-tropical when they lose most of their tropical characteristics, such as intense rainfalls and strong wind gusts.

By mid-morning, Bill was cruising at 78 km/hr and was located 570 kilometres east-northeast of St. John's. Despite its diminished status, the storm was still packing maximum sustained winds of 102 km/hr.

All tropical watches and warnings were called off for the province.

RCMP on the Burin Peninsula, in southern Newfoundland, said increased winds and tides resulted in some property damage, but there were no injuries reported.

After suspending its ferry service between North Sydney, N.S., and Port aux Basques, N.L., for 24 hours, Marine Atlantic said it would resume sailings Monday morning.

However, some crossings scheduled for Monday and Tuesday between North Sydney and Argentia, N.L., and vice versa were cancelled.

Marine Atlantic said those passengers would be rerouted through Port aux Basques and reimbursed for the difference in the fare.

"There will be schedule changes for the next several days as we work to move the traffic that was displaced when we suspended operations," John Majchrowicz, vice-president of operations, said in a news release.

"We apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers, and we are working to return to normal operations as soon as possible."

Environment Canada said rainfall amounts in Newfoundland were in line with the amounts received Sunday in Nova Scotia, with many areas hit with between 50 and 60 millimetres.

There were reports in Nova Scotia of localized flooding, downed trees and fallen branches strewn across roads, but the province's Emergency Management Office said the damage appeared minimal.

"Our office will be now, starting this morning, assessing damage across the province," Craig MacLaughlan, the office's CEO, said Monday morning.

"In the next couple of weeks, I'll prepare a report for the minister and then we'll see what further steps we need to take."

Ramona Jennex, the minister for emergency management, said Nova Scotians were fortunate to have escaped Bill's full wrath, which remained largely out to sea.

Had the storm swerved 80 kilometres closer to the coast, the morning after would be an entirely different story, she said.

"It was a huge storm and we were very lucky that it veered off the coast as far as it did," said Jennex, standing outside EMO's headquarters in Dartmouth.

"We don't want to become complacent in Nova Scotia. We have a history of storms happening and so we have to be on guard all the time."