Strong storm Fiona swept across eastern Canada on Saturday, bringing hurricane-like winds to trees and power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power.
The US National Hurricane Center said that the center of Storm Fiona is now in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence after passing through the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. There were reports of downed trees and electricity poles in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Fiona, which devastated parts of the Caribbean islands nearly a week ago, made landfall between Canso and Jesboro in Nova Scotia, where the Canadian Hurricane Center said it recorded what would have been the lowest pressure storm in the world. The history of the country sweeping the mainland.
Utilities said nearly 79 percent of customers, or 414,000, were without power in Nova Scotia, and 95 percent, or 82,000, were without power in Prince Edward Island. The area has also seen erratic mobile phone service. Police across the area reported several road closures.
The strength of the storm eased somewhat as it moved north. The center said the storm carried winds with a maximum speed of 140 kilometers per hour.
Experts expected strong winds, storms and heavy rains from Fiona, which was expected to weaken gradually over the next two days, but may maintain its wind strength until Saturday afternoon.
The storm, previously classified as a hurricane, hit the Caribbean islands last week, killing at least eight people and causing power outages for nearly all of Puerto Rico’s 3.3 million residents in the midst of a severe heat wave. Nearly a million people were without electricity for up to five days.
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