As you would expect, Nova Scotians are out in full force getting ready to take on whatever Hurricane Fiona will deliver.
Boat owners have been securing their vessels and removing many of them as extremely high winds, storm surge and heavy rainfall amounts are all expected to begin late Friday.
When Fiona does make landfall, it’s expected to transition to a tropical storm, but that doesn’t mean it will be any smaller.
“When we see a storm going through that transition from a pure hurricane to a tropical storm, we typically see those wind fields expand, so the storm actually gets bigger and this is what we are going to see with this particular storm,” Bob Robichaud, Canadian Hurricane Centre, said. So in terms of area of coverage, this is going to cover a very large area, very similar to what Dorian did three years ago.”
As soon as the storm passes and it is safe for people to mobilize, shelters will be opened in areas where they are needed.
Two facilities for homeless people in the Halifax area are also going to be opened before the storm begins.
“We will be transporting people, those who want to be and not everyone wants to be, but we’ll be encouraging them to take shelter to these two locations,” Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said. “These are people who are homeless so we’ll transport them there and provide food and obviously shelter.”
With the storm being compared to Hurricane Dorian three years ago and Hurricane Ivan in 2003, widespread damage is expected.
Flooding and storm surge are expected to be major issues and Nova Scotia Power is bracing for the worst.
