Fiona batters Canada’s east coast: ‘like nothing we’ve ever seen’

Olivia Rondeau

Though Fiona was downgraded from being categorized as a hurricane to a tropical storm on Friday, the storm has slammed into the eastern regions of Canada, causing flooding and power outages.

With parts of five provinces experiencing torrential rain and winds of up to 160km/h (99mph), and widespread flooding, hundreds of thousands of people have been left without power, reported BBC early Sunday morning. According to police, it’s “like nothing we’ve ever seen.”

Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and New Brunswick, as well as in parts of Quebec.

One woman has also been reported missing, after being washed out to sea in Newfoundland.

Port aux Basques, a town in the southwest of Newfoundland, has been hit particularly hard by the storm, with everything east of the town hall building being put under an emergency evacuation order as the town is pounded by severe winds and storm surge, reported CBC on Saturday.