Powerful Storm Fiona hit Canada’s Atlantic coast, leaving more than 500,000 homes without power and bringing strong winds and rain, after battering Bermuda and several Caribbean territories in hurricane form in recent days.

“Fiona has come and left her mark on Nova Scotia and neighboring provinces,” said the region’s chief minister, Tim Houston, with uprooted trees, flattened homes and damaged power lines.

Although downgraded to a storm, Fiona suffered winds of 120 kilometers per hour and was moving at a speed of 37 kilometers per hour northeast after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in the early morning hours after hit the Caribbean, meteorologists reported. . .

Nova Scotia Power, which supplies the province of Nova Scotia, where Fiona struck, reported more than 400,000 customers without power by early local afternoon.

In the other two hardest-hit provinces, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, operators said there were 82,000 and 44,000 homes without power, respectively.

A 12-hour doppler radar animation of #Fiona because it touched the ground during the night. Preliminary reports from Sydney Airport with a gust of 140km/h, with further reports over 150km/h. #nsstormpic.twitter.com/qpaXjikV2S

— ECCC Weather Nova Scotia (@ECCCWeatherNS) September 24, 2022

In its latest bulletin at 11:45 a.m. GMT (8:45 a.m. in Argentina), the Canadian Hurricane Center (CHC) reported winds of more than 130 km/h in Nova Scotia, and noted that Fiona was moving at a speed of 55 km/h. h. h to the north-northeast, according to the AFP news agency.

Violent gusts of wind are expected to persist into the evening, said meteorologist Bob Robichaud, who however noted that “conditions should gradually improve over the next three to six hours”.

“Big waves hit the east coast of Nova Scotia and southwestern Newfoundland; they could exceed 12 meters,” he said.

For its part, the American NHC indicated that the hurricane was above the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

“We have never seen such weather conditions,” Charlottetown police in Prince Edward Island said on Twitter.

Two women were taken away in Channel-Port aux Basques, in the province of Newfoundland, according to a police spokeswoman. One of the two victims, dragged after the collapse of his house, was rescued and hospitalized, the other is still missing.

“It’s unbelievable, there’s no electricity, there’s no Wi-Fi, there’s no network. A lot of trees have fallen, there’s a lot of flooding on the roads,” city mayor Philip Brown confirmed to the audience. Radio Canada channel.

The conditions are unlike anything we have ever seen. We are logging reports of downed trees and wires, but will only respond to emergency calls. -Dispatcher Kelly ☎️ pic.twitter.com/gX7YPTPDSN

— Charlottetown Police (@ChtownPolice) September 24, 2022

Nova Scotia authorities have issued an emergency alert announcing possible power outages and advising residents to stay home with food for at least 72 hours.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the storm could “have a significant impact across the region” and called for “taking appropriate precautions”.

In Nova Scotia’s capital Halifax, businesses ran out of propane supplies as local residents rushed for supplies.

Thinking of everyone affected by Hurricane Fiona – I want you to know we are here for you. I have agreed to an Incident Response Group meeting with the Minister @BillBlair and officials this morning. Our government is ready to support the provinces with additional resources.

—JustinTrudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 24, 2022

Fiona passed Friday, with a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale of 5, about 160 km from Bermuda, after wreaking havoc in the Caribbean.

The hurricane hit this British territory of some 64,000 inhabitants located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with gusts of 160 km / h and heavy rain, but without causing any casualties or significant damage.

Electricity provider Belco said 15,000 of Bermuda’s 36,000 homes were without power as of Friday afternoon, but power was quickly restored in many areas.

The territory, located 1,000 km from the United States and accustomed to hurricanes, is one of the most isolated places in the world, which makes any emergency evacuation almost impossible.

Fiona caused the death of four people in Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, according to an official quoted by the media, and one death was also reported in Guadeloupe, a French overseas department, and two in the Dominican Republic.