North Bay Nugget e-edition

Fiona approaches Atlantic Canada

KEITH DOUCETTE

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 powerful” post- tropical storm.

The storm, characterized as “historic” in magnitude by meteorologists, was expected to make landfall early Saturday morning, bringing hurricane- force winds and more than 100 millimetres of rain to much of the region and eastern Quebec. Closer to the path of Fiona, more than 200 millimetres of rain is expected to fall — potentially leading to the washout of some roads.

Bob Robichaud, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Fiona was shaping up to be a bigger storm system than Hurricane Juan, which caused extensive damage to the Halifax area in 2003. He said it’s about the same size as post- tropical storm Dorian in 2019.

“But it is stronger than Dorian was,” he told reporters during a briefing. “It’s certainly going to be an 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 northward and was expected to reach Nova Scotia waters late Friday night before passing through Cape Breton early Saturday. Fiona is expected to reach Quebec’s Lower North Shore and southeastern Labrador early Sunday.

Dave Buis, vice- commodore of the Northern Yacht Club in North Sydney, N. S., said he was worried about the storm, which was expected to slam the island of Cape Breton.

“Oh definitely, I think this is going to be a bad one,” Buis said in a telephone interview. “Hopefully it will slow up when it hits the cooler water, but it doesn’t sound like it’s going to.” He said he removed his seven- metre sailboat from the water on Thursday.

On the eastern part of the island in the small Acadian community of Petit- de- Grat, N. S., fishermen were also busy dry- docking their boats, or attempting to lash them tightly to the wharf.

Lobster fisherman Kyle Boudreau said major storm damage is hard for a coastal community to absorb. “This is our livelihood. Our boats get smashed, our traps gets smashed ... it’s stuff you don’t have to start your season next year,” he said.

Meanwhile, stores in Halifax sold out of propane gas cylinders used for camping stoves. Shelves in the camping department of a local Canadian Tire store that normally carried the small green canisters were completely bare.

But Halifax resident and plumber Chad Shiers advised that people in search of a small fuel tank could use plumbing propane.

“There’s more ways to get what you need,” he said Friday after buying a blue propane torch. “If I have fire I can eat. As long as they have what I need, I’m not going to panic.”

Robichaud warned people across the region not to be complacent just because they aren’t near the centre of the storm’s track. “The impacts are going to be felt way beyond where the centre of the storm actually goes,” he said.

Severe winds and rainfall are expected to result in “major impacts” for 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 Newfoundland are expected to experience pounding surf, with waves expected to reach more than 10 metres off Nova Scotia and more than 12 metres in eastern parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In addition to significant storm surge, potential for flooding in coastal and mainland areas and an “all- time” low pressure across the region, the storm is expected to cause widespread power outages due to trees and electrical poles brought down by powerful winds.

A spokeswoman for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, said there were plans to open Centre 200 sports centre in Sydney as an evacuation centre Friday evening. Christina Lamey said the space would be used by residents who feel they will be unsafe through the storm, particularly those living on the southern coast of the region. Halifax was also set to open four evacuation centres on Friday evening.

In P. E. I. Public Safety Minister Darlene Compton warned people who might be curious to stay away from coastal areas, saying it wasn’t worth it to watch the storm roll in.

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2022-09-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

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