Trudeau vows aid to Atlantic Canada as Hurricane Fiona nears: ‘Going to be a bad one’
Global News
Trudeau said Ottawa has been in contact with provincial counterparts to offer support if needed, but stressed Atlantic provinces have "tremendous" resources in place.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday promised the federal government will be on hand to assist Atlantic Canada as it braces for the arrival of Hurricane Fiona, which is expected to make landfall Saturday morning.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre has issued a hurricane watch over extensive coastal expanses of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, with authorities warning of heavy rain, flooding and “life-threatening” storm surges.
“It’s going to a bad one,” Trudeau said during a joint press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Ottawa.
“We of course hope there won’t be much (federal assistance) needed, but we feel there probably will be. And we will be there for that. In the meantime we encourage everyone to stay safe and to listen to the instructions of local authorities, and hang in there for the next 24 hours.”
Trudeau said Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair has been in contact with his provincial counterparts, whom the prime minister said have “tremendous” resources to prepare for the incoming storm and support residents in affected areas.
Fiona, currently a category 4 hurricane, had maximum sustained winds of 205 km/h as of Friday afternoon as it approached Nova Scotia from the south. Those winds are still expected to reach as high as 175 km/h by the time it reaches the southern shore of the province, according to the latest update from the Canadian Hurricane Centre.
“This is is definitely going to be one of, if not the most powerful, tropical cyclones to affect our part of the country,” Ian Hubbard, meteorologist for the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth, N.S., said during an update earlier Friday. “It’s going to be definitely as severe and as bad as any I’ve seen.”
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