Fiona reaches Nova Scotia, Maritimes without power

Storm Fiona made landfall in Nova Scotia very early Saturday morning, more specifically on the Canso Peninsula, in the eastern tip of the province, near Hart Island. The strong winds it generates are expected to move gradually northward during the day Saturday.

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

” Fiona will continue to move northeast today and will cause damaging winds, waves and storm surges,” the Canadian Hurricane Center (CHCO) tweeted early Saturday.

In a tweet posted a few hours earlier, shortly before 4 a.m., the organization had confirmed that the storm had “recently made landfall between Canso and Guysborough”. “With an unofficial pressure recorded at Hart Island of 931.6 Mb, this is the lowest storm ever recorded in Canada,” said the pan-Canadian analysis center at the time.

According to CCPO projections, Fiona should pass through Cape Breton during the morning, then reach the Lower North Shore of Quebec and southeastern Labrador by late evening. Several images showing houses damaged by water, torn poles, or downright destroyed roads began to circulate on social networks on Saturday. On Burnt Island in southwestern Newfoundland, several homes were hit.

Shortly before 3:00 p.m., the CHC also indicated that Fiona “moves northeast across the Gulf of St. Lawrence as hurricane-force gusts continue over parts of southwestern Newfoundland.”

power outages

As expected, the storm plunged hundreds of thousands of Canadians into darkness. In total, more than 500,000 customers were without power in the Maritimes on Saturday. Most of the damage was reported in eastern Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, but also in Cape Breton, which in fact declared a local state of emergency “given widespread power outages, closed roads, displaced residents and structural damage”.

North of Nova Scotia, most residents of Prince Edward Island are without power. As of 6 a.m. local time, Maritime Electric reported outages affecting 82,213 customers of the 86,000 served by the company. In Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Power reported that 376,939 customers were without power. In New Brunswick, NB Power reported outages affected 47,017 customers.

The Canadian Hurricane Center reported very strong winds; hurricane-force gusts have already been recorded in eastern Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, Îles-de-la-Madeleine in Quebec, and in southwestern Newfoundland and Labrador.

In Quebec, Hydro-Quebec reported shortly after 9 a.m. that 1,591 customers in the Magdalen Islands were without power. In Gaspésie, nearly 2,000 Hydro-Québec customers were also without power on Saturday morning, mainly in the Rocher-Percé, Côte-de-Gaspé and MRC d’Avignon sectors. Several teams from the state-owned company have been deployed to the region to deal with Fiona.

Many risks of erosion

Environment Canada meteorologist Jean-Philippe Bégin told The Press Saturday that the strongest gusts so far have been observed in Sydney, Cape Breton, with gusts over 141 km / h. “We are reporting major damage at the moment,” he said.

“As for the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, we had strong winds from around midnight, so gusts of more than 90 km/h. The strongest gust recorded is around 120 km/h. It will continue until around 9 p.m. Saturday evening, ”he detailed.

For Mr. Bégin, “all the coasts exposed to the northeast will be very exposed to erosion, with possibly cut sections of roads”. “The winds will then shift to the northwest. The whole north shore will taste it,” he summed up, noting that Forillon Park, in Gaspé, will be a “very exposed” sector.

Storm Fiona, described as “historic” by meteorologists, is also expected to bring 100 to 200 millimeters of rain to much of Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec. More than 200 millimeters are expected to fall in areas closer to the storm’s track.

“Higher than normal water levels and very large waves are expected,” Environment Canada said in a special advisory on Saturday.

According to the federal agency, the winds “could topple many trees and cause prolonged service outages”. “It is likely that exterior wall coverings and roofing will suffer damage, including structural damage in some cases. Winds of this force could smash windows and destroy large signs hung on highways. These phenomena will damage quays and dykes. Significant shoreline erosion and large waves are expected where winds will blow inshore,” it said.

Storm surge warnings are in effect for most of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, southwestern Newfoundland, eastern Nova Scotia and the east coast of New Brunswick, with surges may exceed 12 meters in the eastern parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Cabot Strait.

Coastal flooding remains a threat to parts of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, including the Northumberland Strait, Gulf of St. Lawrence and Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, all such as eastern New Brunswick, southwestern Newfoundland, the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Lower North Shore of Quebec.

The authorities on the alert

Citizens on the trajectory of Fiona were advised to provide supplies for a period of 72 hours. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has delayed his departure for Japan, where he is to attend the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“We are working with the provinces and we are ready to help if needed. Be careful, ”reiterated Mr. Trudeau in a tweet. “Our team continues to monitor the hurricane Fiona and the situation in Atlantic Canada and Quebec,” he said.

For his part, the Prime Minister and leader of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), François Legault, indicated Friday evening that he would suspend his electoral campaign until further notice because of the trajectory of Fiona, which should also affect Quebec. “We think of the people of the Côte-Nord, Gaspésie and Îles-de-la-Madeleine […] You are made strong the Madelinots. Know that all of Quebec is with you, ”says a tweet on the official page of Premier Legault. “I am in Quebec in contact with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary General of the Government”, he specified.

With The Canadian Press