Sat, 24 Sep 22 20:35:51 +0000

'It is surreal': Canada's Atlantic coast residents describe devastation as Fiona wipes away homes and knocks out power for thousands

(CNN)Fiona is ripping through Canada's eastern seaboard at hurricane strength after making landfall in Nova Scotia on Saturday, slamming the area with fierce winds and storm surge, sapping power for hundreds of thousands and washing away or collapsing some coastal homes.

Fiona, now a post-tropical cyclone, had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph -- the power of a Category 1 hurricane -- around 2 p.m. ET Saturday, with its center over the Gulf of St. Lawrence and heading toward eastern Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Some coastal homes collapsed, and a few toppled structures even fell into the sea or were surrounded by floodwater in Newfoundland and Labrador, pictures sent from the province Saturday morning showed.

In the province's coastal Channel-Port aux Basques town, "We've already had houses ... and things that are washed away," Mayor Brian Button said in a Facebook video Saturday morning. Dangerous storm surges -- ocean water pushed onto land -- had been expected, forecasters said.

René Roy, editor-in-chief of Wreckhouse Press, a local news publication, described a scene of carnage in the storm: uprooted trees, at least eight nearby homes vanished in the wake of a violent storm surge, cabins floating by, a boat carried by floodwaters into the middle of a local playground.

"I've lived through Hurricane Juan and that was a foggy day compared to this monster," Roy, 50, told CNN. Hurricane Juan battered the Canadian coast as a Category 2 storm in 2003, knocking down power lines and trees and leaving behind extensive damage. "It is surreal what is happening here," Roy added.

Roy told CNN he evacuated from his home and staying with a cousin on higher ground. He has no idea if his home is still standing and emergency personnel stopped him from driving over to check. It was unsafe to do so, they warned.

Fiona slams Canada's Atlantic coast

Pictures by another area resident, Terry Osmond, showed a collapsed building in Channel-Port aux Basques surrounded by seawater at the shoreline, and splintered wood and other debris were scattered across town.

"Never in my lifetime" has there been "so much destruction ... in our area," Osmond, 62, wrote to CNN.

A woman in town was rescued from water Saturday afternoon after her home collapsed, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. She was taken to a hospital; the extent of her injuries wasn't immediately known, police said.

About a 30-minute drive to the east, several buildings were blown apart In the coastal Newfoundland community of Burnt Islands, video posted to Facebook by Pius Scott showed. Homes -- or parts of them -- collapsed in heaps, and debris littered the ground and seawater.

Devastation is 'breathtaking,' mayor says

Power outages were reported for more than half a million utility customers in Atlantic Canada on Saturday afternoon, including more than 364,000 in Nova Scotia and more than 85,000 on Prince Edward Island, according to Poweroutage.com.

Restoring power was among officials' biggest priorities, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said during a Saturday news conference, describing "shocking" damage across the province, including communities whose roads had been washed out and littered with downed trees and power lines.

But weather conditions were still too severe in many areas for crews to begin assessing and repairing damage, said Nova Scotia Power President and CEO Peter Gregg. More than 900 power technicians are on their way to the area, but with parts of the province still experiencing storm conditions, Gregg added some customers may experience power outages for several days.

The storm made landfall in the darkness of early Saturday as a powerful post-tropical cyclone in eastern Nova Scotia, between Canso and Guysborough, and crossed over the province's Cape Breton Island. Officials in the Cape Breton area declared an emergency and asked people to shelter in place.

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality wrote on Twitter Saturday afternoon telecommunications systems were making it difficult for officials to receive information ad urged residents to remain sheltered and not to travel.

"There are more than 70 road closures and hazards," it warned.

West of landfall, in Nova Scotia's capital, Halifax, an apartment complex's roof collapsed, forcing about 100 people to leave for a shelter, Mayor Mike Savage told CNN Saturday.

"The magnitude of this storm has been breathtaking," Savage later said in Saturday's news conference. "It turned out to be everything predicted."

In the Prince Edward Island capital of Charlottetown, police tweeted photos of damage including a home's collapsed ceiling.

"Conditions are like nothing we've ever seen," Charlottetown police tweeted early Saturday.

Fiona could become Canada's Superstorm Sandy

After passing through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Fiona should reach Quebec's lower north shore and Newfoundland and Labrador by late Saturday, the Canadian Hurricane Centre said.

Hurricane-force gusts were reported Saturday morning across parts of Maritime Canada, generally ranging from 70 to 95 mph (110 to more than 150 kph). A top gust as of midmorning was 111 mph (179 kph) in Arisaig, Nova Scotia, according to Environment Canada.

Rainfall could total up to 10 inches in some places, and significant flooding is possible, forecasters said.

The storm already claimed the lives of at least five people and shut off power for millions as it battered islands in the Caribbean and the Atlantic earlier this week.

Fiona could become Canada's version of Superstorm Sandy, Chris Fogarty, Canadian Hurricane Centre manager, said before Fiona hit. Sandy in 2012 affected 24 states and all of the eastern seaboard, causing an estimated $78.7 billion in damage.

An unofficial barometric pressure of 931.6 mb was recorded Saturday at Hart Island, which would make Fiona the lowest pressure landfalling storm on record in Canada, according to the Canadian Hurricane Centre.

Similarities with 2012's Superstorm Sandy

Fiona had been a Category 4 storm early Wednesday over the Atlantic after passing the Turks and Caicos and remained so until Friday afternoon, when it weakened on approach to Canada.

It became post-tropical before making landfall, meaning instead of a warm core, the storm now had a cold core. It does not affect the storm's ability to produce intense winds, rain and storm surge, it just means the storm's interior mechanics have changed.

Fiona approached Canada at the same time as a trough of low pressure and cold air to the north, much like Sandy did, according to Bob Robichaud of the Canadian Hurricane Centre.

"Sandy was larger than Fiona is expected to be even. But the process is essentially the same, where you have two features kind of feeding off each other to create one strong storm like we're going to see," he said Friday.

As of 2 p.m. Saturday, hurricane-force winds extended up to 115 miles out from Fiona's center, while tropical-storm-force winds reached up to 405 miles out, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Large swells generated by Fiona could cause life-threatening surf and rip currents along not only Atlantic Canada, but also the US Northeast coast and Bermuda, the hurricane center said.