470,000 without power after Fiona causes 'shocking' damage in Canada
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians were without power Saturday after former hurricane Fiona slammed into the country's Atlantic provinces, causing what officials called a shocking and devastating amount of damage.
Trees were downed and power poles were snapped in half, and roofs were ripped off buildings and homes washed away after Fiona made landfall in eastern Nova Scotia around 3 a.m., officials said.
When Fiona made landfall near Whitehead it was a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds of 90 mph, officials said.
"It's shocking the damage that we're seeing," Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said Saturday.
A storm surge of over 6 feet hit Prince Edward Island. The damage is likely the worst ever seen in the province, and the recovery will take weeks or longer, Premier Dennis King said.
No deaths associated with the storm had been reported by Saturday afternoon.
More than 471,000 customers across Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island New Brunswick and Newfoundland were without power Saturday, according to utilities.
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg said that some will be without power for "multiple days."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau canceled plans to attend a state funeral in Japan for murdered former prime minister Shinzo Abe. He said the storm was having a "terrible impact."
"We're seeing devastating images come out of Port aux Basques," Trudeau said. "PEI (Prince Edward Island) has experienced storm damage like they've never seen. Cape Breton is being hit hard, too, as is Quebec."
He said the country's armed forces would be deployed to assist in the aftermath, and the federal government would be ready to help.
In Port aux Basques on the southwestern coast of Newfoundland, evacuations were ordered and Mayor Brian Button said "total devastation" was occurring, the CBC reported.
Video from the news agency showed homes being washed away. Phil Boyles fled because of the storm surge. "I took everything out that I could try to keep, and now it don't look like I can even get back," he said, according to the CBC.
Fiona had been a Category 4 hurricane as it approached Bermuda.
It caused major damage in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic earlier this week when it was Category 1 storm. Fifteen deaths in Puerto Rico and two deaths in the Dominican Republic have been tied to the storm, officials there said.
The hurricane had been forecast to be a historic weather event for eastern Canada.
In Prince Edward Island, King, the premier, said Saturday that the damage is most likely the worst the province has ever seen.
"It was billed as one of the most severe storms to ever hit our province, and by all accounts hurricane Fiona has lived up to that billing," he said.
He was grateful that there had been no reports of serious injuries or worse, but said "our road to recovery will be weeks or longer."
At 6 p.m. local time, Fiona was 80 miles northwest of Port aux Basques and was moving northeast at 8 mph, the National Hurricane Center in the U.S. said.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and was forecast to move across Labrador and over the Labrador Sea late Saturday and into Sunday. It will produce large swells and life-threatening rip currents, the center said.
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It's rare that such a severe weather event hits Canada. In my lifetime I can remember only two such situations that happened close to where I lived, Hurricane Hazel in 1954 and I don't remember the year but we got a tornado - I will never forget that green sky.
There was also the 1998 Ice Storm that shut down most of Southern Quebec and Eastern Ontario for several days turning urban and country areas into dystopian landscapes.
I recall a power outage in Toronto for a short period of time but I thought it was in the early 2000s. However, there have been disasters out West - B.C. has seen destruction due to recent heavy rains, and back around 7 decades ago Manitoba had a disastrous flooding.
Did you forget the day that the thundering herd of moose ran wild and trampled Moosejaw, Saskatchewan.
It was horrific and totally without precedent. From that day on Moose were banned from Moosejaw. In fact the name Moosejaw was banned as well and the town was renamed Bearsbutt.
Glad there was no casualties up North.
Weeks to recover sounds a little iffy, depending on damage.
"...it was a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds of 90 mph..."
That's the problem with that self-identification shit. Just plywood the windows and call it a herkin.
I lived in Placentia (and Argencia) Newfoundland for 18 months when I was a child.
It was often cold and windy butt never that fucking windy!