CNN
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Deadly Hurricane Fiona It has weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm, but is still packing strong winds at 125 mph as it barrels toward Canada’s Atlantic coast.
The National Hurricane Center is expected to bring hurricane conditions to the area on Friday night. aforementioned.
Canadian Hurricane Center forecasters are on track to become an “extreme weather event” Friday afternoon, threatening strong winds, dangerous storm surges and nearly two months of precipitation across eastern Canada. Some departments, such as Canada Maritime, will begin to feel the effects by Friday evening, the center said.
“This could be a major event for Canada in terms of the intensity of a tropical cyclone,” and it could even be the Canadian version of Superstorm Sandy, said Chris Fogarty, director of the Canadian Hurricane Center. Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states and the entire east coast, causing an estimated $78.7 billion in damage.
Officials in Canada’s Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have urged those in the storm’s path to be on high alert and prepare for the impact of the hurricane, which has killed at least five people this week and cut power to millions this week. battered many Caribbean islands.
Fiona strengthened into a Category 4 storm over the Atlantic early Wednesday after passing Turks and Caicos and remained so until Friday afternoon.
The National Hurricane Center said at its 8 p.m. ET recommendation that the storm weakened slightly, but still broke through with hurricane-force winds extending more than 100 miles from its center and tropical storm-force winds extending more than 300 miles.
Its center was about 215 miles southeast of Halifax on Friday night.
“Although gradual weakening is predicted over the next few days, Fiona is expected to become a strong cyclone of hurricane force once it crosses Atlantic Canada,” the center said. aforementioned.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for Nova Scotia from Hubbards to Brule in Canada and from Parson’s Pond to Francois in Newfoundland. Prince Edward Island and Isle-de-la-Madeleine are also under warning.
“It has the potential to be very dangerous,” said John Lohr, the minister in charge of the Emergency Management Office. For Nova Scotia. “The effects are expected to be felt across the province. Every Nova Scotian must be prepared today,” Lohr added. during an official update Thursday.
Lohr said residents need to be prepared for winds, high waves, coastal storm surges and heavy rains that can lead to prolonged power outages. Emergency workers encouraged people to secure outdoor items, trim trees, charge cell phones, and create a 72-hour emergency kit.
According to Chris Fogarty, director of the Canadian Hurricane Centre, the area hasn’t seen such a severe storm in nearly 50 years.
“Please take it seriously because we see meteorological numbers on our weather maps that are rarely seen here,” Fogarty said. Said.
According to a news release, utility company Nova Scotia Power launched an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on Friday morning that will serve as the central coordination area for outage restoration and response.
The company will also work closely with the Nova Scotia Office of Emergency Management.
“We are taking every precaution and will be ready to respond to Hurricane Fiona as safely and efficiently as possible,” Sean Borden, storm lead coordinator at Nova Scotia Power, said in a statement. Said.
Andy Francis, a fisherman in southwest Newfoundland, was preparing for a storm this week by pulling one boat out of the water and mooring the other to a nearby pier.
“This time everyone seems to agree that it’s going to be bad,” he said. CBC News. He said everyone else in the area was also prepared to help “minimize the damage” to the station.
“This is going to be different,” Francis told CBC.
Winds across Atlantic Canada could be around 160 mph, as Fiona is expected to weaken a bit before landing in Nova Scotia, CNN meteorologists Rob Shackelford and Taylor Ward said.
Prince Edward Island officials urged residents to prepare for the worst as the storm approaches.
Tanya Mullally, who serves as the state’s head of emergency management, said one of the most pressing concerns for Fiona is the historic storm surge she is expected to unleash.
“Storm surge will certainly be significant. … Flooding we haven’t seen and can’t take action against,” Mullally said on Thursday. during the update.
Canadian Hurricane Center modeling suggests that “depending on the region, the surge could be anywhere from 1.8 to 2.4 meters (6 to 8 feet)”, says Bob Robichaud, a meteorologist at the center.
Mullally said the northern part of the island will bear the brunt of the storm due to the direction of the winds, which will likely cause property damage and coastal flooding.
The Nova Scotia Office of Emergency Management said all provincial campgrounds, beaches and day-use parks, as well as Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, were closed Friday.
Earlier this week, Fiona damaged the homes of millions of people in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands and upset critical power and water infrastructure.
As Fiona made landfall on Sunday, days after Puerto Rico suffered an island-wide power outage, only 41% of customers had their electricity restored on Friday, according to the power grid operator’s figures. LUMA Energy Posted on the island’s emergency portal system.
According to the National Weather Service, mass power outages are being experienced as much of Puerto Rico endures the extreme heat, causing temperatures to warm as much as 112 degrees on Thursday. Temperatures remained in the 80s and 90s on Friday, according to CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward.
Daniel Hernández, director of renewable projects at LUMA, explained that critical locations, including hospitals, will be prioritized before repairs begin on an individual level.
“This is a normal process. The important thing is that everyone is calm… We work to ensure that 100% of our customers receive service as soon as possible.” said.
According to the emergency portal system, more than a quarter of customers on the island had no water service or had intermittent service.
Fiona affects more than 8.00 households in the Dominican Republic and the country’s head of emergency operations, Maj. Gene. Juan Mendez Garcia.
More than 210,000 homes and businesses were still in the dark on Thursday morning, and 725,246 customers had no running water, he said.
“It was an incredible thing we’ve never seen before,” Ramona Santana from Higüey, Dominican Republic, told CNN en Español this week. “We are on the streets, we have nothing, no food, no shoes, no clothes, only what is on our backs. … We have nothing. We have God and we hope that help will come.”
Fiona also threatened parts of Turks and Caicos on Tuesday, saying British territory was still without electricity in Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay, North Caicos and Middle Caicos earlier this week. Islands.
