The storm’s track is getting clearer every day and it looks like the storm, which is currently a Category 3 hurricane, will make landfall in either Nova Scotia or southern Newfoundland sometime on Saturday. While it’s still too far for wind speeds or rainfall amounts to drop, Environment Canada predicts the “large and powerful” storm will be widespread, affecting the entire island of Newfoundland and parts of Labrador, as well as the entire other Atlantic provinces and parts of Quebec in one way or another. The west and southwest coasts of Newfoundland will bear the brunt of strong and potentially damaging winds. The storm recently hit Puerto Rico and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Canadian Hurricane Center will update us at approximately 9:30 AM. NDT. (file photo) Newfoundland Power says it’s “all hands on deck” as the utility monitors the progress of Hurricane Fiona. Newfoundland Power says crews and support teams, strategically located across the province, are ready to respond as safely and quickly as possible if needed. Newfoundland Power is also asking customers to prepare as much as possible by making sure they have an emergency kit and all their devices are charged. They encourage people to sign up for Outage Alerts to receive updates directly to their phone or email about outages in their area. Customers can also contact Newfoundland Power 24/7 by visiting their website or calling the outage line at 1-800-474-5711. Via @Trepassey_NL on Twitter The MHA for Ferryland District is monitoring Hurricane Fiona’s track very closely as the Category 3 storm heads north towards Newfoundland. The storm surge from the remnants of Hurricane Earl last week broke the breakwater at Trepassey, temporarily cutting off the lower shore from the rest of the community and leaving the town exposed and vulnerable to the ocean’s fury. Loyola O’Driscoll says work to repair damage done to the breakwater last year during Hurricane Larry should have been completed before then. If it had been, the breakwater might not have been so badly damaged by Earl. He says last year’s tender won’t cover all the work needed thanks to last week’s damage, so more money will be needed to cover the costs to build and properly repair the breakwater.
