It’s on track to be an “extreme weather event” in eastern Canada, with a threat of strong winds, a dangerous storm surge and about two months of precipitation, forecasters at the Canadian Center for Meteorology warned late Friday. hurricanes And some parts, such as the Canadian Maritimes, will likely begin to feel effects Friday evening, the center said.
“This could be a historic event for Canada in terms of tropical cyclone intensity,” and could even become Canada’s version of Superstorm Sandy, said Chris Fogarty, manager of the Canadian Centre. of hurricanes Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states and the entire eastern seaboard, causing an estimated $78.7 billion in damage.
Officials in Nova Scotia and Canada’s Prince Edward Island urged those in the storm’s path to be on high alert and prepare for the impact of the hurricane, which has already the lives of at least five people and has shut off electricity for millions this week as it battered several Caribbean islands.
Fiona strengthened to a Category 4 storm early Wednesday in the Atlantic after passing the Turks and Caicos, and remained so until Friday afternoon.
The National Hurricane Center said in its 8 p.m. ET advisory that the storm weakened slightly but still produced hurricane-force winds extending more than 100 miles from its center and gale-force winds of tropical storms that extend more than 300 miles.
Its center was about 215 miles southeast of Halifax Friday night.
“Although gradual weakening is forecast over the next few days, Fiona is expected to be a powerful hurricane-force cyclone as it moves across Atlantic Canada,” the center said.
Hurricane warning for parts of Nova Scotia
In Canada, hurricane warnings were 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 warnings.
“It has the potential to be very dangerous,” said John Lohr, the minister responsible for Nova Scotia’s Office of Emergency Management. “Impacts are expected to be felt across the province. All Nova Scotians should prepare today,” Lohr added during an official update Thursday.
Residents should prepare for damaging winds, high waves, coastal swell and heavy rain, which could lead to extended power outages, Lohr said. Emergency officials have encouraged people to protect outdoor items, cut down trees, charge cellphones and create a 72-hour emergency kit.
The area hasn’t seen a storm this intense in about 50 years, according to Chris Fogarty, manager of the Canadian Hurricane Centre.
“Please take this seriously because we are seeing weather numbers on our weather maps that are rarely seen here,” Fogarty said.
Utility Nova Scotia Power activated an emergency operations center (EOC) Friday morning that will serve as the central coordination area for restoration and response to outages, according to a news release.
The company will also work closely with the Nova Scotia Office of Emergency Management.
“We are taking every precaution and will be prepared to respond to Hurricane Fiona as safely and efficiently as possible,” Sean Borden, Nova Scotia Power’s lead storm coordinator, said in the statement.
“This is going to be bad”
Andy Francis, a fisherman in southwest Newfoundland, was preparing for the storm this week, pulling one boat out of the water and tying another to a nearby dock.
“This time it seems like everyone has the same consensus that this is going to be bad,” he told CBC News. Everyone else in the area, he told the station, was also preparing to help “minimize the damage.”
“This is going to be different,” Francis told CBC.
In Atlantic Canada, winds could reach about 100 mph as Fiona is expected to weaken slightly before making landfall in Nova Scotia, CNN meteorologists Rob Shackelford and Taylor Ward said.
Prince Edward Island officials pleaded with residents to prepare for the worst as the storm approaches.
Tanya Mullally, who serves as the province’s chief of emergency management, said one of Fiona’s most pressing concerns is the historic storm surge it is expected to unleash.
“The storm surge will certainly be significant … Flooding that we haven’t seen and we can’t measure,” Mullally said Thursday during an update.
Canadian Hurricane Center modeling suggests the surge “depending on the area, could be 1.8 to 2.4 meters (6-8 feet),” said Bob Robichaud, a meteorologist at the center.
The northern part of the island will bear the brunt of the storm due to the direction of the winds, which will likely cause property damage and coastal flooding, Mullally said.
All provincial campgrounds, beaches and day-use parks, as well as the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, were closed Friday, the Nova Scotia Office of Emergency Management said.
Fiona’s power outages continue
Earlier this week, Fiona damaged homes and disrupted critical power and water infrastructure for millions of people in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos.
Days after Puerto Rico experienced an island-wide blackout when Fiona made landfall on Sunday, only 41% of customers had power restored on Friday, according to numbers from power grid operator LUMA Energy posted on the portal system of emergency of the island.
The massive power outage is coming as much of Puerto Rico endures extreme heat, which caused temperatures to feel as hot as 112 degrees on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures remained in the 80s and 90s Friday, according to CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward.
Daniel Hernández, director of renewable projects at LUMA, explained that critical sites, including hospitals, will be prioritized before repairs can begin on an individual level.
“This is a normal process. The important thing is that everyone is calm… we are working so that 100% of customers have service as soon as possible,” said Hernandez.
And more than a quarter of customers on the island had no water service or intermittent service, according to the emergency portal system.
In the Dominican Republic, Fiona affected more than 8,000 homes and destroyed 2,262 homes, according to the country’s head of emergency operations, Major General Juan Méndez 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 had never seen before,” Ramona Santana in Higüey, Dominican Republic, told CNN en Español this week. “We are on the street with nothing, no food, no shoes, no clothes, just what you have on your back… We have nothing. We have God, and the hope that help will come.”
Fiona also threatened parts of the Turks and Caicos on Tuesday, and areas of the British territory were still without power earlier this week, including Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay, North Caicos and Middle Caicos, he said Anya Williams, Acting Governor of the Islands.
CNN’s Allison Chinchar, Melissa Alonso, Ana Melgar Zuniga and Amanda Musa contributed to this report.