Fiona slams Canada’s Atlantic coast with hurricane-force winds, heavy rain | CNN

Fiona slams Canada’s Atlantic coast

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'This is a state of emergency': Houses in Canada dragged out to sea by Fiona
00:48 - Source: CNN

What we covered here

  • Fiona, now referred to as a post-tropical cyclone, made landfall on Nova Scotia Saturday morning, hitting the region with heavy rain, flooding and high winds.
  • Hundreds of thousands of people lost power in sweeping outages that officials say could last several days for some customers.
  • The storm’s damage stunned residents on Canada’s Atlantic coast, as wind downed trees and power lines and some homes were even washed away.
  • The storm already killed at least five people and shut off power for millions this week as it battered multiple Caribbean islands.
  • If you are in an area with low power connectivity, go to CNN’s lite site here.
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We’ve wrapped up our live coverage. Read more on Fiona here, or you can scroll through the updates below.

"This is unreal": Residents stunned as Fiona washes homes away in Newfoundland

Hurricane Fiona damages homes in Port aux Basques.

Rene Roy, the editor-in-chief at a community newspaper in Newfoundland, told CNN that Fiona is the worst storm he’s ever experienced. 

The 50-year-old, who leads the region’s Wreckhouse Press newspaper, said there are uprooted trees and homes washed away by the storm surge.

“I have seen wind that has pulled trees out of the ground, homes swept away by water, homes that have been lost to the ocean,” he said. Roy said he counted at least eight homes that washed away, and he believes there could be more. 

When Roy woke up at 6 a.m. ET and looked out his window, he expected to see Channel Head, an island off the southern tip of Port aux Basques. But it was nowhere to be seen, overtaken by the storm surge.

“Nobody in Newfoundland has seen that before. That woke me up in a heartbeat. That was terrifying,” he said.

Roy fled his house and is now staying with his cousin on higher ground. He doesn’t know if his home is still standing. Emergency personnel stopped him from driving back to check on the property, telling him it was unsafe.  

"Shocking" devastation from Fiona on Nova Scotia could lead to days-long power outages, officials say

A worker clears fallen trees and downed power lines in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday.

Crews are scrambling to restore power in Nova Scotia as nearly three-quarters of the province is without electricity due to post-tropical cyclone Fiona, Premier Tim Houston said this afternoon at a news conference. 

“The situation right now is where none of us want us to be,” Houston said. “I dread to think of where we would be had Nova Scotians not taken every single possible precaution to protect themselves and their families.” 

Houston described the damage across the province as “shocking,” with communities facing washed-out roads and downed trees and power lines. 

Peter Gregg, CEO of Nova Scotia Power, said weather conditions are still too severe in many areas for workers to begin assessing and repairing damage. 

According to Gregg, over 900 power technicians are on the way to Nova Scotia. 

Gregg said there’s still an active storm in many parts of the province despite some weather and wind improvements, so some customers might see power outages for a couple of days. 

Halifax Regional Municipality Mayor Mike Savage said communication has been a challenge during the power outage. 

Savage said an apartment roof collapse caused 100 people to evacuate, but he’s grateful there have not been too many injuries or any reported deaths. 

Nearly 370,000 customers across Nova Scotia are without power, according to poweroutage.com

Fiona continues to hit Atlantic Canada with hurricane-force winds, storm surge and heavy rainfall

Post-tropical cyclone Fiona’s sustained winds have dropped slightly to 75 mph (about 121 kph), which is still equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

“Conditions across Nova Scotia should gradually improve over the next 3 to 6 hours,” the Canadian Hurricane Centre’s Bob Robichaud said in a press conference Saturday afternoon.

Despite the gradual weakening of the storm, the NHC warned that “significant impacts from high winds, storm surge, and heavy rainfall are still expected.”

Fiona is currently in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, roughly 105 miles (170 kilometers) west-northwest of Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland, and will move across Labrador this evening and over the Labrador Sea on Sunday. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 km) from the center and tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 405 miles (650 km).

The CHC has discontinued the tropical storm watch for Labrador and the tropical storm warnings for all of Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia utility workers are working to clear downed trees and fix damaged equipment

A downed tree smashed a truck in Nova Scotia.

Utility crews in Nova Scotia are dealing with numerous downed trees after Fiona, now considered a post-tropical cyclone, slammed into the region this morning.

In a series of tweets, Nova Scotia Power said: “Hurricane Fiona has been fierce, making its mark across NS. While winds have slowed in parts of the province, it’s important to remember that this is still an active storm and areas like Cape Breton are still experiencing high wind.”

The utility company is asking residents to stay away from downed lines as crews enter affected neighborhoods to assess the damage and make repairs.

The company said it cannot enter some areas yet with bucket trucks because winds are still over 80 km/h (about 50 mph).

“We know this is hard on our customers. Please know that our crews will be out there as soon as they can,” it said.

According to PowerOutage.ca, over 370,000 customers in Nova Scotia remain without power as of Saturday afternoon.

Vehicles navigate around a downed tree on Saturday, Sept. 24, in East Bay, Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island in Canada.

How to stay safe in case of flooding or a power outage from Fiona

Public Safety Canada warned those affected by flooding from Fiona to take a few steps to keep themselves safe, including turning off furnaces, gas valves and electricity.

“If you’re in danger of imminent flooding, move any furniture and electrical appliances to ground level and *don’t* attempt to shut off electricity if any water is present,” it added.

If evacuation is needed, the agency advises people to take along safety kits and to never drive through floodwaters.

If you lose power, here are some tips to stay safe:

  • Stay home: Staying indoors is your best bet during a winter power outage, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • Take stock of the essentials: In case the power outage lasts a few days, you should have the following on hand: A three- to seven-day supply of food and water, flashlight and extra batteries, a battery-powered radio, extra medicine and first-aid supplies.
  • Be careful of carbon monoxide: Generators can release poisonous carbon monoxide if you use them inside your home. If you’re using one this week, keep it outside, about 20 feet away from your home, the CDC advises.
  • Check on your loved ones: When safe to do so, check in with the people around you to make sure they’re OK. Those who have medical equipment that require power, like respirators, should be taken to locations with generators or a friend’s or neighbor’s home that hasn’t been impacted.

How Fiona already wreaked havoc in areas of the Caribbean and Puerto Rico

A house lays in the mud after it was washed away by Hurricane Fiona at Villa Esperanza in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

As it churned through the Atlantic Ocean, Fiona left devastation on Puerto Rico and some other Caribbean islands.

The first major hurricane of this year’s Atlantic season killed at least five people: one in Guadeloupe, two in Puerto Rico and two in the Dominican Republic.

Puerto Rico: Hitting almost exactly five years after Hurricane Maria, Fiona delivered flooding rains and an islandwide blackout as it made landfall Sunday, with more than 450,000 people without water or with intermittent service, according to the government’s emergency portal system.

As of Saturday morning, about 785,000 customers were without power, according to poweroutage.us.

Across the island, more than 800 people were housed in dozens of shelters as of Wednesday, according to Puerto Rico’s housing secretary, William Rodriguez.

President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration Wednesday for the US territory, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. New York City’s mayor has deployed staff from city agencies to Puerto Rico to help officials surveying damage.

Dominican Republic: As of Friday morning, there were over 210,000 customers without power in the Dominican Republic, according to Maj. Gen. Juan Méndez García, director of the country’s emergency operations center.  

Méndez García said more than 725,000 customers were without running water across the country as of Thursday morning.

A total of 8,708 households have been affected by Hurricane Fiona and 2,262 homes have been destroyed due to the storm, Méndez García said. 

Woman hurt when her house collapses into the sea during Fiona

A woman was rescued from the water Saturday afternoon after her house in Newfoundland collapsed as Fiona, a post-tropical cyclone, swept through, according to Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 

The Port aux Basques woman was taken to the hospital, but police said the extent of her injuries is unknown at this time. 

Police are working to confirm reports of a second woman getting swept into the water as her home collapsed, according to RCMP. 

Police reiterated pleas for residents to stay home and off the roads as crews deal with electrical fires and flooding. 

RCMP called for residents to “be safe” and “respect the evacuation order.” 

Button repeated his earlier request for residents not to leave their homes to take pictures of the storm and its aftermath. 

“Stay away,” Button said. “This is a state of emergency.” 

Cape Breton authorities ask residents to shelter in place

The municipal government of Cape Breton Island, which is located at the eastern end of Nova Scotia, said it is not currently safe for anyone to travel and urged residents to continue to shelter in place.

Fiona caused downed power lines and trees, and communications systems are “under strain,” officials said on Twitter.

The Cape Breton Regional Police also said that “more than 70 roads” have been affected by the storm and told drivers to stay home.

Photos show flooding and debris in Newfoundland

Terry Osmond, 62, has lived on Newfoundland’s southwestern coast near Port aux Basque for his whole life. He told CNN he has never seen such destruction after Fiona rolled through the area.

Here are some photos he took of damage caused by the storm:

“Canada's version of Sandy": Fiona likely to be the nation's strongest storm

A sailboat lies washed up on shore in Shearwater, Nova Scotia, on September 24.

Fiona “could be Canada’s version of Sandy,” according to Chris Fogarty, a meteorologist for Canada’s Hurricane Centre.

Fogarty points to the size and intensity of Fiona and its combination of hurricane and winter-storm characteristics. 

Residents in Atlantic Canada need to be prepared for a long period of utility outages and structural damage to buildings, Canada’s national weather service, Environment Canada, said before the storm’s arrival. By late Saturday morning, severe damage and widespread power outages had come to pass.

Fogarty told CNN Thursday he is concerned this may shock people, especially in the eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton areas, since it’s been about 50 years since a storm this intense has struck.

Fiona’s winds will be “quite likely (the) strongest since Hurricane Juan in 2003,” said Fogarty, noting that Juan was a much smaller storm, whereas “this one is huge.”

Tang said that Fiona could “easily set a new record” for the lowest pressure of any storm to hit Canada. The lower the pressure of a storm, the stronger it is.  

“Please take it seriously because we are seeing meteorological numbers in our weather maps that are rarely seen here,” Fogerty warned.

Fiona continues to produce hurricane-force winds across Atlantic Canada

Waves pound the shore in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, September 24.

Fiona’s sustained winds have dropped slightly to 80 mph, which is still equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

The center warns that “significant impacts from high winds, storm surge, and heavy rainfall are still expected” from the storm, now considered a post-tropical cyclone.

Fiona is currently in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, roughly 100 miles (160 km) west-northwest of Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland, and is moving north toward Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. The highest recorded wind gust for Fiona so far is 111 mph (179 kph) in Arisaig, Nova Scotia.

“Fiona continues to produce hurricane-force winds, heavy rains, storm surge, and rough marine conditions across Atlantic Canada and the surrounding waters,” the hurricane center said. “Surface observations suggest that the minimum pressure has been rising, and is not estimated to be about 945mb, which is still extraordinarily low.”

Remember: In general, the lower the central pressure, the stronger the storm.

Fiona’s forward speed has slowed to 25 mph, which is below average for this region; traditionally, a storm at this latitude has a forward speed around 32 mph. The hurricane center also cautions that large swells generated by Fiona are expected to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the northeast coast of the Northeast US, Bermuda and Atlantic Canada over the next few days.

Mayor in Newfoundland pleads with residents to stay off the streets as Fiona brings destruction

Damage and debris is seen in Burnt Islands, Newfoundland, on Saturday, September 24.

The mayor of a town in Newfoundland urged residents to take caution and follow emergency orders as Fiona made landfall on Canada’s Atlantic coast this morning.

Port aux Basques Mayor Brian Button posted a video on his Facebook, pleading with residents to stay off the streets unless an evacuation order is issued. He said too many people are walking around town now and taking pictures.

Button said he “can’t stress it enough” that people need to go inside and stay there throughout the duration of the storm, as there’s already some destruction with downed telephone poles and trees.

Button also implored residents under evacuation order to leave their homes.

“Anyone being told to leave their homes – you need to leave. No ifs, ands or buts,” Button said. “My only message to you people right now is: If you don’t leave now, we may not be able to get you out of there when we really need to. So, you need to go now. Houses can be replaced, but you can’t be.” 

The coastal town is located in southwestern Newfoundland.

There is some "severe damage" from Fiona, Halifax mayor says

A resident surveys damage on her street in Halifax on September 24.

Halifax Mayor Mike Savage updated CNN on the damage that his city, the capital of Nova Scotia, has sustained due to Fiona.

“Here in Halifax, we’re starting to see the end of the active part of this and we can start to do more damage assessment,” he said.

There’s some “severe damage for sure,” he continued, as officials just found out about an apartment that had a roof collapse and needed to have 100 people evacuated.

Savage also discussed the impact of climate change, noting that storms have become more extreme.

“With climate change, these (are) becoming more frequent, as are the volatility of winter storms, snow. So we’re taking a lot of measures here in the city of Halifax to protect our city. We have a very good climate action plan; that’s going to require investment and support. … But absolutely, we’re getting more of these and we have to be ready for them,” he said.

"Like nothing we’ve ever seen": Here's what destruction looks like on Prince Edward Island

Police in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, urged residents to stay off the roads as Fiona downed power lines and trees.

“Conditions are like nothing we’ve ever seen,” authorities said in a series of tweets.

The island is one of eastern Canada’s maritime provinces, which are taking the brunt of the storm Saturday morning. The large island is located off New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Shelter in place order issued as Fiona hits northeast end of Nova Scotia

Officials issued a local state of emergency this morning in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia according to a statement on the municipality’s Facebook. 

Fiona slammed into Maritime Canada early Saturday morning with hurricane-force winds, heavy rain and large surf. Cape Breton was among the areas expected to take the brunt of the storm.

The municipality is asking residents to shelter in place as there’s widespread power outages, road closures and structural damage across the region, according to the statement. 

The municipality is located in the northeast end of Nova Scotia where Fiona is now passing through, according to tweets from the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office. 

“Across the province, we’re hearing reports of damaged trees and power lines as the storm continues to pass through,” NSEMO said. Crews are currently assessing damage, according to NSEMO.  

Over 400,000 customers in Nova Scotia without power after Fiona makes landfall

Workers lift a downed wire to allow machinery to access fallen trees in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on September 24.

As Fiona, now referred to as a post-tropical cyclone, has made landfall in Nova Scotia, there are over 540,000 outages reported in the Canadian Maritime provinces, according to poweroutage.com.

Nova Scotia is reporting 413,556 customers in the dark of the nearly 500,000 it tracks, according to the website. Outages are also affecting Prince Edward Island, with all of its 84,561 customers currently without power, and New Brunswick, with 44,159 customers without power.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau monitoring storm

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a G7 meeting on June 26, in Germany.

In a tweet late Friday night, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his team is monitoring the situation with Fiona in the Atlantic Canada and Quebec. 

Fiona brings hurricane-force wind gusts to Maritimes in Canada

Hurricane-force wind gusts have been reported across areas of the Maritimes in eastern Canada and range from 70 to 95 mph (110 to over 150 kph). Damaging winds are expected to continue through Saturday evening as Fiona moves north into the Gulf of St. Lawrence toward Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador.

These are the wind gusts from Environment Canada, the country’s national weather service:

  • Beaver Island, Nova Scotia - 94 mph (152 kph)
  • Sydney, Nova Scotia - 88 mph (141 kph)
  • East Point, Prince Edward Island - 87 mph (140 kph)
  • Louisbourg, Nova Scotia - 78 mph (126 kph)
  • Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island - 70 mph (112 kph)
  • Halifax, Nova Scotia - 68 mph (110 kph)

Fiona makes landfall in what could be a “landmark” weather event for Canada

Fiona made landfall at around 4 a.m. ET between Canso and Guysborough counties in eastern Nova Scotia, Canada, as a very strong post-tropical cyclone.

An unofficial barometric pressure of 931.6 mb was recorded at Hart Island, which would make this the lowest-pressure land-falling storm on record in Canada, according to a tweet by the Canadian Hurricane Centre. Wind observations on Beaver Island in eastern Nova Scotia were recorded at 94 mph (152 km/h). 

Fiona is expected to pass through Cape Breton on Saturday morning and then reach the southeastern Labrador Sea by late tonight. Storm surge, heavy rain, strong winds and large waves will accompany this storm as it races northward at over 40 mph (65 km/h).

Fiona is “on track to be an extreme weather event here in eastern Canada,” forecasters with the Canadian Hurricane Centre said on Friday afternoon. Recent rainfalls have left the region saturated and Fiona could bring another one to two months’ worth of rainfall.

“This could be a landmark event for Canada in terms of intensity of a tropical cyclone,” and it could even become Canada’s version of Superstorm Sandy, said Chris Fogarty, Canadian Hurricane Centre manager. 

Fiona weakened slightly on Friday to a Category 2 storm. Fiona had been a Category 4 storm early Wednesday over the Atlantic after passing the Turks and Caicos and remained so until Friday afternoon.

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