More than 500,000 homes will be without electricity on Canada’s Atlantic coast on Saturday as a result of Storm Fiona, which has already damaged homes, vehicles and fallen trees, international agencies have reported.
In Nova Scotia alone, Nova Scotia Power today had about 415,000 homes without electricity — about 80% of the province, according to the Associated Press (AP).
More than 82,000 customers in Prince Edward Island were also without power, while NB Power in New Brunswick had more than 44,000 homes without electricity.
Canadian meteorological services have multiplied their warnings about this storm, which is considered “historic” and has already wreaked havoc in the Caribbean.
Fiona, which, according to the AP, has lost strength and is no longer a hurricane but becoming a post-tropical storm, made landfall early this Saturday in Nova Scotia, after passing Bermuda on Friday, where authorities reported no significant damage.
According to the Canadian Hurricane Center, Fiona has the lowest pressure ever recorded in a storm in Canada, and meteorologists admit it could become one of the strongest storms to hit the country.
The mayor of Cape Breton has declared a local state of emergency over widespread power outages, road closures and damage to homes.
“There were houses that were badly damaged by falling trees, large old trees that fell and caused considerable damage. There are also houses whose roofs have been completely torn off, windows broken. There are many pieces of wreckage on the roads,” says the mayor. told the AP.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has decided to postpone his trip to Japan for the funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“Of course we hope there won’t be many needs, but we think there probably will be,” the minister said in an appeal: “Listen to the instructions of the local authorities and wait the next 24 hours”.
According to the EFE agency, the storm is expected to reach the province of Quebec and the southeast coast of the Labrador Peninsula this afternoon.
Source: DN
