After wreaking havoc in the Caribbean, the hurricane is poised to hit the Canadian province of Nova Scotia this Saturday morning. According to models from the Canadian Hurricane Center (CHC), Fiona would hit the eastern part of the region in the morning, bringing “heavy rain, strong winds and storm surge.”
“All Nova Scotians need to be prepared today (Thursday) for impact,” John Lohr, director of the provincial office of emergency management, warned at a news conference.
“It could be the Canadian version of Sandy,” CHC meteorologist Chris Fogarty warned, quoted by CNN. As a reminder, Hurricane Sandy caused massive damage in 2012, particularly on the East Coast of the United States. After Katrina in 2005, Sandy is considered the fourth costliest hurricane in US history.
Up to 25 centimeters of rain expected
“It needs to be taken seriously because we’re seeing numbers that we rarely see,” urged Chris Fogarty of Fiona. Winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour are expected and some areas could be affected by rainfall of up to 25 centimeters. Authorities already expect flooding and power outages.
This Friday morning, the hurricane, downgraded from category 4 to category 3, brushed the British territory of Bermuda, with gusts of 160 kilometers per hour and violent rains. During the night from Thursday to Friday there were power outages in some places and more than 7,000 people were without power at dawn, according to authorities, who fear damage to coastal areas.
A few days earlier, Fiona caused the deaths of four people in Puerto Rico, a US territory. She had previously reported one death in Guadeloupe and two in the Dominican Republic.
Source: BFM TV
