A deadly hurricane that battered several island nations in the Caribbean this week is now battering Bermuda before making landfall in Canada this weekend, where residents are being warned to brace for dangerously strong winds and heavy rain.
Officials in Bermuda as well as Canada’s Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are urging those in the storm’s path to be alert and prepare for the impact of Hurricane Fiona, which has already killed at least five people and has turn off the power supply. million this week.
“Fiona is predicted to be a significant and historic weather event for Nova Scotia,” said John Lohr, the minister responsible for the provincial Office of Emergency Management.
“It has the potential to be very dangerous. The effects are expected to be felt across the province. Every Nova Scotian should be preparing today,” Lohr added during an official briefing Thursday.
Residents should prepare for damaging winds, high waves, coastal storms and heavy rainfall that could lead to extended power outages, Lohr said. Emergency officials have encouraged people to secure outdoor items, trim trees, charge cellphones and create a 72-hour emergency kit.
Fiona was downgraded to a powerful Category 3 storm early Friday as it passed near Bermuda overnight, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was packing sustained winds of 125 mph with stronger gusts, the center said.
The storm’s center was about 155 miles northwest of Bermuda, and hurricane-force winds were felt on the island.
“Once Fiona passes Bermuda, the storm is expected to affect Nova Scotia by Saturday afternoon. Fiona will become extratropical before impact, but that will do little to curb the damage Fiona will cause,” CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford explained.
Across Atlantic Canada, winds could be around 100 mph (160 km/h) as Fiona reaches Nova Scotia, Shackelford said.
Bermuda, which is under a hurricane warning, closed schools and government offices on Friday in preparation for the storm, according to Michael Weeks, the island’s minister of national security.
In Canada, hurricane warnings are in place for Nova Scotia from Hubbards to Brule and Newfoundland from Parson’s Pond to Francois. Prince Edward Island and Isle-de-la-Madeleine are also under warning.
Prince Edward Island officials are imploring residents to prepare for the worst and hope for the best as the storm approaches.
Tanya Mullally, who serves as the province’s chief of emergency management, said one of the most pressing concerns with Fiona is the historic storm she is expected to unleash.
“The storm surge will definitely be significant. … Flooding that we have not seen nor can we measure,” Mullally said Thursday during a briefing.
He added that the northern part of the island is bearing the brunt of the storm due to the direction of the winds, which will likely cause property damage and coastal flooding.
Earlier this week, Fiona destroyed homes and knocked out critical power and water infrastructure for millions of people across Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos.
Days after Puerto Rico experienced island-wide blackouts as Fiona made landfall on Sunday, only 38% of customers had power restored Thursday, according to LUMA Energy.
The massive power outage comes as much of Puerto Rico is reeling from extreme heat, which brought temperatures up to 112 degrees Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Daniel Hernández, director of renewable energy projects at LUMA, explained that critical places, including hospitals, will be prioritized before individual level repairs begin.
“This is a normal process. The important thing is for everyone to be calm… we are working to ensure that 100% of customers will have service as soon as possible,” Hernández said.
Nearly 360,000 customers were experiencing intermittent water service or no service as of Thursday afternoon, according to the government’s emergency gateway system.
As of Wednesday, more than 800 people were housed in dozens of shelters across the island, according to Puerto Rico’s housing secretary, William Rodriguez.
President Joe Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for the U.S. territory, FEMA said. The move allows residents to access grants for temporary housing and home repairs as well as low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses.
In the Dominican Republic, Fiona affected 8,708 households and destroyed 2,262 houses, according to the country’s head of emergency operations, Lt. Gen. Juan Médez García.
He said more than 210,000 homes and businesses were still in the dark Thursday morning and another 725,246 customers were without running water.
“This was something incredible that we’ve never seen before,” Ramona Santana in Higüey, Dominican Republic, told CNN en Español this week. “We are on the streets with nothing, no food, no shoes, no clothes, just what you have on your back. … We do not have anything. We have God and hope help will come.”
Fiona also threatened parts of the Turks and Caicos on Tuesday, and parts of the British territory were still without power earlier this week, namely Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay, North Caicos and Middle Caicos, said Anya Williams, Acting Governor of the Islands.