The Atlantic coast of Canada was preparing Friday evening for the impact in the night or early Saturday of Hurricane Fiona, described as a “historic” storm by the country’s weather services, after its devastating passage in the Caribbean.
“Where it ranks in the history books we will have to determine after the fact, but it will certainly be an historic and extreme event for eastern Canada,” Bob Robichaud said Friday during a press conference. meteorologist with the Canadian Hurricane Center (CHC), calling Fiona a “major” hurricane.
In its latest bulletin, the CHC states that “this storm is expected to be a severe weather event for Atlantic Canada and Eastern Quebec”.
Very intense post-tropical storm
Carrying sustained winds of up to 195 km/h, the hurricane was located just over 200 km south of Sable Island, a small sandy strip off the coast of Nova Scotia, and was moving towards north at a speed of 56 km/h, according to the CCPO.
“Fiona will become a very intense post-tropical storm when it makes landfall over eastern Nova Scotia tonight or early Saturday morning,” the CHC wrote, adding that it still expects “this storm will produce very heavy rain and strong winds”, as well as “big waves”.
power outages
Authorities in the province of Nova Scotia, at the eastern end of Canada, have issued a power outage alert, asking everyone to stay indoors and have enough supplies for at least 72 hours .
In the neighboring province of Prince Edward Island, residents were also preparing for the arrival of the hurricane.
Earlier Friday, Bermuda had been rocked by 160 km/h gusts and heavy rains. But after wreaking havoc in the Caribbean, Fiona passed some 100 miles off British territory in the mid-Atlantic Ocean with no casualties or major damage.
>> More information: Now a major hurricane, Fiona continues its devastating course towards Bermuda
Extremely isolated territory
Electricity supplier Belco reported that 15,000 of 36,000 homes were still without power on Friday afternoon. Residents posted images of flooding and downed power lines on social media.
The territory, located a thousand kilometers from the United States and accustomed to hurricanes, is one of the most isolated places in the world, which makes any evacuation almost impossible in the event of an emergency.
The main island had therefore taken the preparations seriously. Buildings and houses must also comply with strict construction rules to withstand storms.
afp/hkr