The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced that Hurricane Fiona made landfall off the coast of eastern Canada’s Nova Scotia this morning, with a maximum wind speed of 144 km/h after passing over Bermuda the day before.
“Fiona is expected to impact parts of Atlantic Canada today as a strong hurricane force cyclone with significant effects from strong winds, cyclonic tides and heavy rains,” NHC said.
The Canadian Hurricane Center noted strong winds were reported in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Magdalene Islands and southwestern Newfoundland.
The Canadian center said at least 125 millimeters of rain was recorded over Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, St. He added that cyclonic storms are “highly likely” in the Gulf of Lawrence and western Newfoundland.
“It’s definitely going to be an extreme historic event in eastern Canada,” Canadian meteorologist Bob Robichaud said at a press conference before Fiona arrived on the mainland.
“It’s a big hurricane. All its strength is trapped inside the storm, so it’s very difficult for the winds to stop,” he added.
The Canadian center said in its latest bulletin that conditions are expected to improve in western Nova Scotia and eastern New Brunswick on Saturday, but remain unchanged in the rest of the region.
According to the same source, the hurricane was east of Nova Scotia at 6:00 ET and was moving in a north-northwest direction at about 40 miles per hour.
alert in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia officials have issued an emergency alert announcing potential power outages and advising people to stay home with supplies for at least 72 hours.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the storm “could have a significant impact on the entire region”.
In Halifax, Nova Scotia’s capital, residents purchased propane gas cylinders for camping, depleting stores.
Fiona caused no casualties or significant damage as it passed about 100 miles west of Bermuda on Friday, but left 15,000 of its 36,000 homes without power, according to energy company Belco.
The Royal Bermuda Regiment and Belco said they were waiting for the winds to subside before starting to clear roads and restore power. Residents posted photos of downed power lines and some flooding on social media.
Fiona killed four people earlier this week in Puerto Rico, while one in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe and two in the Dominican Republic were reported, according to US media.
U.S. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico, trying to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, which occurred five years ago. In addition, the US federal disaster management agency FEMA plans to send hundreds of more personnel to the island, which has suffered power outages, landslides and floods.
In the Dominican Republic, President Luis Abinader declared a state of natural disaster in three provinces in the east of the region.
source: Noticias
