Hurricane Fiona: Canada braces for ‘historic, extreme event’

Hurricane Fiona: Canada braces for ‘historic, extreme event’ Officials have urged residents along Canada’s Atlantic Coast to brace for impact as Hurricane Fiona heads north after pummelling Bermuda.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre warned that Fiona – expected to reach Canada’s shores by Saturday morning – could be “a historic, extreme event”.

Authorities have warned of potential coastal flooding, power outages and dangerous driving conditions.

At least eight people in Fiona’s path through the Caribbean have died.

Heavy rain and winds lashed Bermuda early on Friday, forcing schools and offices to close, as the hurricane – now a category three storm – headed north.

Fiona had already wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic earlier this week, with many still left without power or running water.

A wiped out four-month-old baby whose mother couldn’t get to the emergency clinic because of impeded streets is among up to four setbacks in Puerto Rico. A demise was likewise recorded on the French island of Guadeloupe.

Hurricane Fiona: Canada braces for ‘historic, extreme event’ Florida also faces a hurricane threat after a separate tropical cyclone formed in the Caribbean Sea.

Tropical Depression Nine is in its early stages and is moving on a path that could bring it to Florida next week as Hurricane Hermine, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

The NHC has said Fiona’s maximum sustained winds could hit 130mph (215 km/h).

Canadian authorities have given intriguing typhoon alerts for the Atlantic territories of Nova Scotia, Ruler Edward Island, Newfoundland and New Brunswick, as well as parts of Quebec.

The region could receive up to 10in (25cm) of rain, increasing the risk of flash flooding.

In Nova Scotia, shelters have been prepared in Halifax and Cape Breton – where the storm is projected tp make landfall – for people to take cover ahead of the storm.

“Every Nova Scotian should be preparing,” said John Lohr, the minister responsible for emergency preparedness in the province, in a Thursday press conference.

Mr Lohr added the tempest would likely bring “serious and harming wind blasts, exceptionally high waves, and beach front tempest floods, extreme and hazardous precipitation rates and delayed blackouts”.

Extreme typhoons in Canada are uncommon, as tempests lose their energy once they hit colder waters in the north and become post-tropical all things considered. Yet, tension in the district is anticipated to be generally low as Typhoon Fiona hits, clearing a path for a heavier tempest.

Nova Scotia was last battered by a tropical cyclone in 2003 with Hurricane Juan, a category two storm that killed two people and heavily damaged structures and vegetation.

Meteorologist Bob Robichaud warned on Friday afternoon that Fiona will be bigger than Juan, and stronger than 2019’s Hurricane Dorian, which also reached the shores of Nova Scotia.

“Being a noteworthy, outrageous occasion for Atlantic Canada is positively going.”

Typhoon Fiona is figure to strike eastern Canada as a strong typhoon force post-hurricane starting this evening, with authorities in Nova Scotia telling occupants they “ought to get ready today and holding onto something.”

Why it matters: After lashing Bermuda, Fiona may be one of the most intense storms ever to hit Atlantic Canada when it roars ashore Saturday. It could even set a national intensity record based on its minimum air pressure.

Threat level: The storm is likely to bring widespread damaging winds to Canada, specifically in the region between Halifax and Newfoundland.

• Power could be taken out in certain areas for expanded timeframes. Beating surf and harming storm flood flooding will likewise influence the Canadian Maritimes.
• Fiona, the primary serious typhoon of this Atlantic tropical storm season, is going through a change into a post-hurricane, which is making it unspool from a firmly wound serious tropical storm into a rambling, storm force windstorm most practically identical to 2012’s Typhoon Sandy.
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What they’re saying: “Fiona is projected to be a significant and historic weather event for Nova Scotia,” John Lohr, Nova Scotia’s emergency management minister, said in an update on the storm Thursday.

• “In the beyond couple of years, Nova Scotians have accomplished the work and ready for a few typhoons and tempests, similar to Tropical storm Teddy in 2020. Fortunately, the effects of those tempests were minor. Fiona is unique,” Lohr added.
• “All questions have been taken out regarding whether this tempest will occur. We are currently sure. Fiona will affect our region, and it can possibly be exceptionally risky.”

A government forecast from Friday morning said the “storm will be a severe event for Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec.”

• “This storm will produce very heavy rainfall and severe winds,” it continued.
• “These winds could cause significant treefall and result in extended utility outages,” Environment Canada warned for eastern Nova Scotia on Friday.
• “Harm to building cladding and roofing material is reasonable, remembering underlying harm for specific cases,” the admonition proceeded. “This will bring about harm to docks and jetties. Critical coastline disintegration and enormous waves are normal where winds blow inland.”
• It gave a comparable admonition for southwest Newfoundland.