Fiona, a Category 3 hurricane, lashed Bermuda with heavy rain and winds early Friday as it swept across the island on a track that is forecast to approach northeastern Canada in the late afternoon as another powerful storm. Authorities in Bermuda opened shelters and closed schools and offices ahead of Fiona. Premier David Bart sent out a tweet urging residents to “look after yourself and your family. Let’s all remember to check and look after your elderly, family and neighbours”. The Canadian Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch for extensive coastal areas of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. The US National Hurricane Center said Fiona should reach the region as a “large and powerful posttropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds”. “It’s going to be a storm everyone remembers when it’s all said and done,” said Bob Robichaud, preparedness warning meteorologist for the Canadian Hurricane Centre. Ian Hubbard, a meteorologist for the Canadian Hurricane Center in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, said the center of the storm is expected to arrive Saturday morning between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. locally, but winds and rain will arrive late Friday. The US center said Fiona had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) late Thursday. It was centered about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Bermuda, moving north-northeast at 25 mph (41 km/h). Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 115 miles (185 km) from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 275 miles (445 km). A hurricane warning was in effect for Nova Scotia from Hubbards to Brule. Prince Edward Island? Isle-de-la-Madeleine; and Newfoundland from Lake Parson to Francois. Fiona has so far been blamed for at least five deaths — two in Puerto Rico, two in the Dominican Republic and one on the French island of Guadeloupe. Hurricanes in Canada are somewhat rare, in part because when storms reach cooler waters, they lose their main source of energy. and become extratropical. But these cyclones can still have hurricane-force winds, albeit with a cold instead of a warm core and no visible eye. Their shape can also be different. They lose their symmetrical form and can look more like a comma. Robichaud told a news conference that modeling predicted “year-round” low pressure across the region, bringing storms and 10 to 20 centimeters (4 to 8 inches) of rain. Amanda McDougall, mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, said officials were preparing a shelter for people to enter before the storm arrived. “We’ve been through these kinds of events in the past, but my fear is not to this extent,” he said. “The effects will be big, real and immediate.” Dave Pickles, CEO of Nova Scotia Power, said he expects widespread power outages. Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center said a tropical depression in the southern Caribbean is expected to hit Cuba early Tuesday as a hurricane and then hit southern Florida early Wednesday. It was located about 615 miles (985 km) east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and was moving at 13 mph (20 km/h). Before reaching Bermuda, Fiona caused severe flooding and damage in Puerto Rico, prompting US President Joe Biden to say on Thursday that the full force of the federal government was ready to help the US territory recover. Speaking at a briefing with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials in New York, Biden said, “We’re all in this together.” Biden noted that hundreds of FEMA and other federal officials are already in Puerto Rico, where Fiona caused blackouts across the island. More than 60 percent of electricity customers remained without power Thursday and a third of customers were without water, and local officials said they could not say when service would be fully restored. As of Friday, hundreds of people in Puerto Rico remained stranded by blocked roads five days after the hurricane hit the island. Frustration was mounting for people like Nancy Galarza, who tried to signal for help from crews she spotted from afar. “Everybody’s going there,” he said, pointing to crews at the bottom of the mountain helping others cut off from the storm. “Nobody comes here to see us. I’m worried about all the seniors in this community.” At least five landslides covered the narrow road to her community in the steep mountains around the northern city of Caguas. The only way to reach the settlement was to climb over thick piles of mud, rocks and debris left by Fiona, whose waters shook the foundations of nearby houses with earthquake-like force. At least eight of the 11 communities in Caguas were completely isolated, said Luis Gonzalez, municipal recovery and reconstruction inspector. It was one of at least six municipalities where crews had not yet arrived in some areas. People there often depend on help from neighbors, as they did after Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm in 2017 that killed nearly 3,000 people. Danciel Rivera arrived in the province of Caguas with a church group and tried to bring some cheer dressed as a clown. “This is very important in these times,” he said, noting that people had never fully recovered from Hurricane Maria. The clown’s huge shoes crunched in the mud as he greeted people, whose faces lit up as they smiled at him. —— Associated Press writers Zeke Miller in Washington, Seth Borenstein in New York, Rob Gillies in Toronto and Maricarmen Rivera Sanchez in San Juan, Puerto Rico contributed
As Hurricane Fiona approaches as a category 4 on Friday, I encourage everyone to prepare properly for this storm and stay out of the water. Take care of yourself and your family. Let’s all remember to check and look out for your elderly, family and neighbours. Stay safe 🇧🇲! pic.twitter.com/s2te8fTIxH — Premier David Burt (@BermudaPremier) September 22, 2022
title: “Hurricane Fiona Less Than 24 Hours From Landfall In Canada " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-30” author: “Kimberly Boone”
People across Atlantic Canada were stocking up on last-minute essentials and storm-proofing their properties Friday ahead of the arrival of Fiona, which forecasters say will hit the region as a “very strong” post-tropical storm. The storm, described as “historic” in size by forecasters, is expected to make landfall early Saturday morning, bringing hurricane-force winds and more than 100 millimeters of rain to much of the region and eastern Quebec. Closer to Fiona’s path, more than 200mm of rain is expected to fall — potentially washing out some roads. Bob Robichaud, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Fiona is forming into a larger storm system than Hurricane Juan, which caused widespread damage in the Halifax area in 2003. He said it is about the same size as 2019’s Tropical Storm Dorian. “But it’s stronger than Dorian was,” he told reporters during a briefing. “It’s sure to be a historic, extreme event for Eastern Canada.” He said wind speeds could reach up to 145 km/h with gusts even higher in some areas. Robichaud said the storm is moving north and is expected to reach Nova Scotia waters late Friday night before passing Cape Breton early Saturday. Fiona is expected to reach the Lower North Shore of Quebec and southeastern Labrador early Sunday. Dave Buis, vice president of the Northern Yacht Club in North Sydney, NS, said he was concerned about the storm, which is expected to hit Cape Breton Island. “Oh sure, I think that’s going to be bad,” Buis said in a telephone interview. “Hopefully it will slow down when the cooler water hits, but it doesn’t sound like it will.” He said he took his seven-meter sailboat out of the water on Thursday. In the eastern part of the island, in the small Acadian community of Petit-de-Grat, NS, fishermen were also busy tying their boats or trying to lash them tightly to the wharf. Lobster fisherman Kyle Boudreau said extensive storm damage is hard for a coastal community to absorb. “This is our livelihood. Our boats get knocked over, our traps get smashed. It’s stuff you don’t need to start your season next year,” he said. Meanwhile, stores in Halifax ran out of propane gas cylinders used for camping stoves. The shelves in the camping section of a local Canadian Tire store that usually carried the little green containers were completely bare. But Halifax resident and plumber Chad Shiers advised that those looking for a small fuel tank could use plumbing propane. “There are more ways to get what you need,” he said Friday after buying a blue propane torch. “If I have a fire I can eat. As long as they have what I need, I won’t panic.” Robichaud warned people across the region not to be complacent just because they are not near the center of the storm’s track. “The effects will be felt well beyond where the center of the storm is,” he said. Strong winds and rainfall are expected to have a “major impact” on eastern Prince Edward Island, eastern Nova Scotia, southern and eastern New Brunswick, western Newfoundland, eastern Quebec and southeastern Labrador. Coastal areas of Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia are expected to experience strong surf, with waves expected to reach more than 10 meters off Nova Scotia and more than 12 meters in the eastern parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In addition to significant storm surge, potential for coastal and inland flooding, and “always” low pressure across the region, the storm is expected to cause widespread power outages due to trees and utility poles downed by strong winds. A spokeswoman for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality said there were plans to open the Center 200 sports center in Sydney as an evacuation center on Friday night. Christina Lamey said the space is to be used by residents who feel they won’t be safe through the storm, particularly those living on the south coast of the area. Halifax was also set to open four evacuation centers Friday night. In PEI, Public Safety Minister Darlene Compton warned people who might be curious to stay away from coastal areas, saying it wasn’t worth watching the storm. “My message is simple — don’t do it,” Compton said during a briefing. “Don’t go near the water, don’t put yourself and others in danger.” An emergency alert from the province warned residents of severe flooding expected along the northern coastline. In downtown Charlottetown, the usually bustling Confederation Landing was unusually quiet. Restaurant owners Lisa and Robert Gale decided to keep Lobster on the Wharf open Friday afternoon to welcome a tour bus expected at 5 p.m. Robert Gale said the worst storm they faced was Dorian. “We’d be lying if we said we weren’t worried about Fiona,” added his wife Lisa. Red chairs that usually sat on the deck were stacked in their office along with tables and they hoped the storms weren’t high enough to flood the restaurant. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey issued a statement aimed at reassuring residents of his province Friday, saying a provincial emergency operations center had been activated while Department of Transportation crews were already checking culverts and removing debris. “Stay home if possible, as this will not only help keep you and your family safe, but you will avoid putting emergency responders at risk,” Furey said. In Quebec on Friday, Premier Francois Legault said authorities were closely monitoring Fiona, which is on track to hit Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Gaspe and the province’s Lower North Shore. “I want to say to people in these areas, be careful, there is a significant risk, prepare for the worst and hopefully it will go well,” Legault said in Laval. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 23, 2022. — With files from Michael Tutton in Petit-de-Grat, NS, Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax, Hina Alam in Charlottetown and Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal
