ferocious storm Fiona hit eastern Canada on Saturday with gusts of a hurricane, uprooting trees and power lines and knocking out electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.
The storm’s core, which is officially known as Post-Tropical Cyclone Fiona, is now located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, according to the US National Hurricane Center. In Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, there were several reports of toppled trees and power lines.
Fiona, which ravaged sections of the Caribbean a week ago, made landfall in Nova Scotia between Canso and Guysborough, where the Canadian Hurricane Centre said that it may have been the storm with the lowest barometric pressure ever to do so.
Utility providers said that 82,000 consumers on Prince Edward Island and 79 percent, or 414,000, customers in Nova Scotia, respectively, were without power. Additionally, there was sporadic cell phone coverage in the area. Numerous road closures were reported by police departments in the area.
As it moved north, the storm lost some of its strength. According to the NHC, the storm had maximum winds of 85 miles per hour (140 kph) and was moving north at a speed of approximately 23 mph (37 kph) as of 8 a.m. (1200 GMT) over the Gulf of St. Lawrence, about 200 miles (340 km) northeast of Halifax.
Fiona was expected to bring strong gusts, storm surges, and lots of rain. According to the NHC, the storm was projected to gradually decrease but would still have hurricane-force winds by Saturday afternoon.
