The Category 4 storm has left a trail of destruction throughout the Caribbean: at least eight people are dead and Puerto Rico is without power
23 September 2022 - 12:16
byIvelisse Rivera
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
A man walks through debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, on September 19, 2022. Picture: REUTERS/RICARDO ARDUENGO
Hamilton — Hurricane Fiona threatened the Atlantic island of Bermuda on Friday, passing west of the British territory on its northward trek towards Nova Scotia while packing the potential to become one of the most severe storms in Canada’s history.
Fiona already battered a series of Caribbean islands earlier in the week, killing at least eight people and knocking out power for virtually all of Puerto Rico’s 3.3-million people during a sweltering heatwave.
Bermudians boarded up windows and stocked up on groceries and flashlight batteries while bracing for the storm, which was expected to make its closest approach to Bermuda in Friday’s early morning hours. The centre of Fiona will thread a path up the Atlantic between Bermuda and the east coast of the US, but the storm’s outer bands will still lash the territory with powerful winds, pounding rain and storm surge.
Preparing for the worst
Across the island, people cleared loose debris from yards and readied to close storm shutters. Many homes are built with small shuttered windows, slate roofs and limestone blocks to withstand frequent hurricanes.
“I’m taking every precaution to stay safe,” said Dean Williams, a resident of the capital city of Hamilton. “Preparation is the key because at its highest intensity, we can do nothing but wait it out.”
At 8pm AST, Fiona had maximum sustained winds of 215kp/h and was about 455km west-southwest of Bermuda and moving north-northeast at 31kp/h, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.
That made it a Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, meaning it was capable of producing catastrophic damage.
It was also 1,610km south-southeast of Halifax, the capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Fiona is shaping up to be the most powerful storm to reach Canada since Dorian made landfall to the west of Halifax in September 2019, the government’s Environment Canada website said.
Areas close to the hurricane's path could get up to 200mm of rain, while winds could damage buildings and cause utility outages, with storm surges swamping the coastlines.
This storm is expected to bring hurricane-force winds and torrential rain to the Atlantic provinces and eastern Quebec beginning Friday afternoon and extending through Saturday. It appears likely to track through the eastern part of Nova Scotia before barrelling north into Newfoundland and Labrador by Sunday.
A broad swath of Atlantic Canada, including parts of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and eastern Quebec, will feel the storm’s clout.
Like Dorian, Fiona could ease to a post-tropical storm, but Dorian still carried Category 2 intensity, with sustained winds of 155kp/h. It toppled century-old trees and triggered an extensive power outage.
And Fiona could dump more rain. Forecasters say areas close to its path could get up to 200mm of rain, while winds could damage buildings and cause utility outages, with storm surges swamping the coastlines.
The hurricane already displayed its devastating strength in Puerto Rico and other islands of the Caribbean, killing at least four people in Puerto Rico, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said.
US President Joe Biden, at a briefing in New York, said the federal government would fund debris removal, power and water restoration and shelter and food for the next month.
An estimated one-million homes and businesses remained without power in the US territory on Thursday after Fiona hit on Sunday, while people sweltered in the heat and humidity.
Loumarie Rosa, a 26-year-old assistant at a chiropractic clinic, said there was no gasoline for her generator in her hometown of Hatillo.
“It’s like the earth is on fire,” she said. “We can’t even turn on a fan.”
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Bermuda under threat from Hurricane Fiona
The Category 4 storm has left a trail of destruction throughout the Caribbean: at least eight people are dead and Puerto Rico is without power
Hamilton — Hurricane Fiona threatened the Atlantic island of Bermuda on Friday, passing west of the British territory on its northward trek towards Nova Scotia while packing the potential to become one of the most severe storms in Canada’s history.
Fiona already battered a series of Caribbean islands earlier in the week, killing at least eight people and knocking out power for virtually all of Puerto Rico’s 3.3-million people during a sweltering heatwave.
Bermudians boarded up windows and stocked up on groceries and flashlight batteries while bracing for the storm, which was expected to make its closest approach to Bermuda in Friday’s early morning hours. The centre of Fiona will thread a path up the Atlantic between Bermuda and the east coast of the US, but the storm’s outer bands will still lash the territory with powerful winds, pounding rain and storm surge.
Preparing for the worst
Across the island, people cleared loose debris from yards and readied to close storm shutters. Many homes are built with small shuttered windows, slate roofs and limestone blocks to withstand frequent hurricanes.
“I’m taking every precaution to stay safe,” said Dean Williams, a resident of the capital city of Hamilton. “Preparation is the key because at its highest intensity, we can do nothing but wait it out.”
At 8pm AST, Fiona had maximum sustained winds of 215kp/h and was about 455km west-southwest of Bermuda and moving north-northeast at 31kp/h, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.
That made it a Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, meaning it was capable of producing catastrophic damage.
It was also 1,610km south-southeast of Halifax, the capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Fiona is shaping up to be the most powerful storm to reach Canada since Dorian made landfall to the west of Halifax in September 2019, the government’s Environment Canada website said.
This storm is expected to bring hurricane-force winds and torrential rain to the Atlantic provinces and eastern Quebec beginning Friday afternoon and extending through Saturday. It appears likely to track through the eastern part of Nova Scotia before barrelling north into Newfoundland and Labrador by Sunday.
A broad swath of Atlantic Canada, including parts of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and eastern Quebec, will feel the storm’s clout.
Like Dorian, Fiona could ease to a post-tropical storm, but Dorian still carried Category 2 intensity, with sustained winds of 155kp/h. It toppled century-old trees and triggered an extensive power outage.
And Fiona could dump more rain. Forecasters say areas close to its path could get up to 200mm of rain, while winds could damage buildings and cause utility outages, with storm surges swamping the coastlines.
The hurricane already displayed its devastating strength in Puerto Rico and other islands of the Caribbean, killing at least four people in Puerto Rico, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said.
US President Joe Biden, at a briefing in New York, said the federal government would fund debris removal, power and water restoration and shelter and food for the next month.
An estimated one-million homes and businesses remained without power in the US territory on Thursday after Fiona hit on Sunday, while people sweltered in the heat and humidity.
Loumarie Rosa, a 26-year-old assistant at a chiropractic clinic, said there was no gasoline for her generator in her hometown of Hatillo.
“It’s like the earth is on fire,” she said. “We can’t even turn on a fan.”
Reuters
Hurricane Fiona hits Puerto Rico with blackouts, flooding and landslides
Seven dead as Cyclone Gombe batters Mozambique
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
JAMES REELER: Business plea to soften carbon tax is a false economy
Hurricane Fiona hits Puerto Rico with blackouts, flooding and landslides
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.