The city of Channel-Port aux Basques in Newfoundland is under a state of emergency as first responders deal with electrical fires, residential flooding and landslides due to Post-Tropical Storm Fiona.
According to the RCMP in the province, Fiona wreaked havoc on Saturday in the small coastal town that sits on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland.
The residents have posted pictures and videos on social media of apartment buildings washed into the sea, flooded roads and collapsing houses. As of Saturday morning, residents across the entire East End Channel were ordered to evacuate.
At around 11:30am local time, the RCMP issued a notice to residents, asking them to “refrain from risky behavior” including taking photos or videos in flooded areas.
“This is not safe. People are putting themselves and first responders at unnecessary risk,” the RCMP said in the notice posted on Twitter.
The city’s mayor, Brian Button, says some houses have been swept away by strong winds and rough seas.
“A house can be replaced but you can’t, so you need to go and we’ve already had houses and things that have been washed away so we need you to go now,” Button said.
Newfoundland Power, which supplies electricity to 600 communities in the province, said in a statement posted on Twitter Saturday that “conditions have rapidly deteriorated” in the Port aux Basque region, slowing its ability to respond to blackouts. .
Environment Canada has multiple warnings for the region and predicts an additional 30-50mm of rain is expected on Saturday from Fiona, on top of the 40-50mm previously reported.
A Wreck Wind Warning is also in effect and winds are expected to shift to the southwest by early Saturday afternoon, but “will remain strong with widespread gusts to 110km/h expected for a few hours before tapering off.” “, the weather agency said on its website.
Environment Canada also says heavy downpours are likely to lead to flash flooding and pooling of water on roads in the region.
David Neil, a warning preparedness meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, told CTV News Channel that wind and water levels are expected to remain high in the province through Saturday night.
“We are still seeing very, very strong winds, especially in southwestern Newfoundland. We expect those winds to remain very strong for much of today and into tonight,” he said.
“The tides are going down a bit now, but we expect those water levels to stay pretty high as well until the afternoon high tide,” he added.
Neil, who is in Gander, NL, said the western and southwestern shelters will get the worst of the winds.
However, they should gradually calm down as the storm moves north, but water levels specifically along the southern and western coasts will rise again overnight, he said.
Compared to previous storms like Igor in 2010, Neil said Fiona is “significant” and will be talked about for “years to come”.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” he said.
In Channel-Port aux Basques, resident Trey Capnerhurst, who lives on the city’s west side, was riding out the storm when they spoke to CTVNews.ca on Saturday morning. They said a two-story apartment building “fell into the ocean” nearby.
“It was always perched on the edge of the ocean, and now it’s in the ocean,” Capnerhurst said in a telephone interview.
Capnerhurst says they live in a home that’s modernized and weather-resistant, but noted that other homes in the region weren’t built with hurricanes in mind.
“Those in front have only lost their porch, and on the other side, a whole house is in the middle of the street,” they said, adding that there is a lot of rubble.
Capnerhurst said they moved a closet in front of their front door so the wind wouldn’t knock it over.
The Capnerhurst area is not currently under an evacuation order. Capnerhurst said they plan to wait out the storm in her home, away from windows.
Looking out, “you can literally see the water being thrown up by the wind, you can see it coming towards you,” they said.
“I would not be in this, this is really dangerous,” they added.
With archives from The Canadian Press