Storm Fiona batters Canada coastline as houses fall into the sea
Canada is sending in troops to help with the clean-up after Storm Fiona destroyed houses and powerlines in eastern provinces.
Anita Anand, the defence minister, said they would help remove fallen trees and other debris, restore transportation links and do whatever else is required for as long as it takes.
She did not say how many troops would be sent in to support communities following the extreme weather event.
After surging north from the Caribbean as a hurricane, Storm Fiona hit Canada in the early hours of Saturday local time as a post-tropical cyclone.
It battered Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec with hurricane-strength winds, heavy rains and huge waves.
Houses were swept out to sea and roofs ripped off houses during the tropical storm. At least one person is missing.
On Sunday, Puerto Rico said at least 16 deaths have been linked to the hurricane.
Troops sent in to help with clean-up
Canadian troops are being sent to assist the recovery from the devastation of storm Fiona, which swept away houses, stripped off roofs and knocked out power across the country’s Atlantic provinces.
Anita Anand, the defence minister, said they would help remove fallen trees and other debris, restore transportation links and do whatever else is required for as long as it takes.
ICYMI: JetBlue flights flies over Hurricane Fiona
A JetBlue flight took off from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on Monday, headed to Newark Airport, New Jersey.
Normally, there wouldn’t be anything unusual about that — except that the plane ended up flying directly over the swirling and powerful winds of Hurricane Fiona.
The flight path took the plane near the top of the hurricane clouds as it flew back to the US, threatening some serious turbulence, according to The Washington Post.
The Independent’s Ethan Freedman has the full story:
Justin Trudeau holds incident response meeting
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held an incident response meeting with government officials on Saturday morning about post-tropical cyclone Fiona.
Mr Trudeau tweeted about the meeting on Saturday afternoon and vowed to send resources to affected areas.
“I’m thinking of everyone affected by Hurricane Fiona – I want you to know that we’re here for you,” he said.
“I convened an Incident Response Group meeting with Minister @BillBlair and officials this morning. Our government stands ready to support the provinces with additional resources.”
State of local emergency declared in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality
A state of local emergency was declared in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
“There are homes that have been significantly damaged due to downed trees, big old trees falling down and causing significant damage,” Mayor Amanda McDougall told The Associated Press. “We’re also seeing houses that their roofs have completely torn off, windows breaking in. There is a huge amount of debris in the roadways.”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said roads were washed out, including his own, and said an “incredible” amount of trees had been blown over.“It is pretty devastating,” Houston said.
Why hurricanes in Canada are rare
It is fairly rare for hurricanes to strike Canada.
This is because storms usually lose energy once they reach colder waters.
Fiona was downgraded late on Friday from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone, before it made landfall on Canada.
However, post-tropical cyclones can still have hurricane-strength winds which can flatten communities in their path.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cancels his trip to Japan amid storm Fiona
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cancelled his trip to Japan for the funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as the extent of damage caused by storm Fiona became clear.
Canadian Prime Minister says country needs ‘more resilient infrastructure’ to withstand extreme weather events
The Canadian Hurricane Centre tweeted that Fiona had the lowest pressure ever recorded for a storm making landfall in Canada.
Forecasters had warned it could be one of the most powerful storms to hit the country.
“We’re getting more severe storms more frequently,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
He said more resilient infrastructure is needed to withstand extreme weather events, saying that what was once a one-in-100 year storm might now arrive every few years because of climate change.
“Things are only getting worse,” Mr Trudeau said.
Canadian military to help clean up Fiona's devastation
Canadian troops are being sent to assist in the recovery from the devastation of storm Fiona, which swept away houses, stripped off roofs, and knocked out power across the country’s Atlantic provinces.
On Saturday (24 September), defense minister Anita Anand said that troops would help remove fallen trees and other debris, restore transportation links and do whatever else is required for as long as it takes.
She didn’t specify how many troops would be deployed.
Animation captures moment Fiona made landfall in Canada
An animation has captured the moment post-tropical cyclone Fiona made landfall in Canada.
ECCC Weather Nova Scotia posted the graphic on Twitter.
“A 12 hour doppler radar animation of #Fiona as it made landfall overnight. Preliminary reports from Sydney airport with a gust to 140 km/hr, with other reports over 150 km/hr,” it tweeted.
According to local reports, Hurricane Fiona also killed at least two people in the Dominican Republic and one person in Guadeloupe.
