Residents of New Brunswick, southern Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador are facing additional severe weather, and Fiona continued to track north after making landfall between Concho and Guysborough in eastern Nova Scotia.
“We were still making calls (as of late Friday) to residents, trying to give some heads up … if you’re not already moving properly, you have to be ready to go at a moment’s notice,” Brian Button, mayor of Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, told CNN on Saturday. .
Fiona is on track to be an “extreme weather event” in eastern Canada, threatening rainfall for about two months, Canadian forecasters said Friday.
Hart Island recorded an unofficial barometric pressure of 931.6 mb, making Fiona the lowest pressure landfall storm ever recorded in Canada, according to the Canadian Hurricane Centre. Observations of wind gusts of 100 mph (161 km/h) were recorded on Beaver Island in eastern Nova Scotia.
“Sandy is expected to be bigger than Fiona. But the process is basically the same — there are two aspects that feed off each other to create a strong storm like we’re going to see overnight.” He said on Friday.
Officials say the storm surge will be significant
In the days leading up to Fiona’s arrival, authorities stepped up services to help those in need and urged residents to be vigilant.
“It has the potential to be very dangerous,” John Lohr, the minister in charge of the Office of Emergency Management for Nova Scotia, said Thursday. “The impacts are expected to be felt across the province.”
Residents should prepare for damaging winds, high tides, coastal storm surge and heavy rainfall, which could lead to prolonged power outages, Loehr said. Emergency officials have encouraged people to protect outdoor items, cut down trees, charge cell phones and create a 72-hour emergency kit.
According to Fogarty, the area hasn’t seen a storm in about 50 years.
“Please take this seriously because we see weather numbers on our weather maps that are rare here,” Fogarty said.
Prince Edward Island officials are urging residents to prepare for the worst as the storm rolls through.
Tanya Mullally, who serves as the province’s emergency management chief, said one of Fiona’s most pressing concerns is the historic storm surge it is expected to unleash.
Canadian Hurricane Center modeling “could be anywhere from 1.8 to 2.4 meters (6-8 feet), depending on the area,” Robichaud said.
Mullally said the north side of the island bears the brunt of the storm because of the wind direction, which could cause property damage and coastal flooding.
All provincial campgrounds, beaches and day-use parks and Shubenacadie Wildlife Park are closed Friday, according to the Nova Scotia Office of Emergency Management.
CNN’s Alison Sinzar, Derek Van Dam, Haley Brink, Aya Elamrouzi, Theresa Waldrop, Christina Maxoris and Hannah Sarison contributed to this report.
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