Storm Fiona slams into east Canada, major power outages
Powerful storm Fiona knocked out electricity to more than 500,000 homes Saturday as it lashed east Canada with strong winds and heavy rains in conditions that police said were "like nothing we've ever seen."
Though downgraded from a hurricane, Fiona still packed winds of 85 miles (137 kilometers) per hour as it barreled ashore in the early hours after battering the Caribbean, according to meteorologists.
In the province of Novia Scotia, more than 400,000 households were without electricity, Novia Scotia Power reported.
In neighboring Price Edward Island, some 82,000 households lost power, with police in the provincial capital Charlottetown posting images of tangles of downed power lines and roofs punctured by felled trees.
"Conditions are like nothing we've ever seen," police tweeted.
"It's incredible, there is no electricity, no wi-fi, no more network," said Charlottetown mayor Philip Brown on Radio-Canada TV.
"It's stronger than Hurricane Juan in 2003. A lot of trees have fallen, there is a lot of flooding on the roads."
Canada had issued severe weather warnings for swathes of its eastern coast.
"Significant impacts from high winds, storm surge, and heavy rainfall are expected," the US National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.
Hurricane Fiona made landfall in eastern Canada's Nova Scotia on Saturday, the US National Hurricane Center said, with maximum sustained winds of 90 miles (144 kilometers) per hour and heavy rainfall.