Hurricane Fiona wreaks havoc on Canada’s east coast, leaves 500,000 homes without power

O hurricane Fiona hit the east coast of the Canada this Saturday, the 24th, and left 500,000 homes without electricity. Trees were uprooted, houses destroyed and power lines damaged in Nova Scotia and neighboring provinces. The violent gusts of wind are expected to persist until the night of this Sunday, the 25th. According to Canadian authorities, Fiona, downgraded to a post-tropical storm, was still causing sustained winds of 120 km/h at 17:00 on Saturday (Canada time) and was moving to a speed of 37 km/h to the northeast. Two women were taken in Channel-Port aux Basques, in the province of Newfoundland, according to a police spokesman. One of the two victims, dragged after the collapse of her house, was rescued and hospitalized, and the other remains missing. “I am thinking of everyone affected by Hurricane Fiona. Know that we are with you,” tweeted the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, announcing that the federal authorities were ready “to provide additional resources to the provinces”. Operator Nova Scotia Power, which supplies the Fiona-impacted province of Nova Scotia, reported more than 384,000 customers without power. In the other two most affected provinces, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, operators reported 82,000 and 44,000 homes without power, respectively.

The storm passed Saturday as a Category 4 (Saffir-Simpson scale) hurricane, about 100 miles west of the Bermudaafter leaving a trail of destruction in the caribbean. According to energy operator Belco, 15,000 out of 36,000 homes were left without power. Fiona has already caused the death of four people in Puerto Rico, earlier this week, according to the American press. Another death was reported in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, and two in the Dominican Republic.