Hurricane Fiona set its sights on Bermuda on Thursday after leaving a devastating path of destruction in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, authorities said.
The Category 4 storm, traveling north, was expected to deliver a glancing blow to the western edge of Bermuda late Thursday night or Friday morning.
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The British territory was expected to receive between 2 inches and 4 inches of rain and wind gusts of up to 75 mph. The heaviest rains in Bermuda are expected to fall between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m.
“As Hurricane Fiona approaches as a Category 4 on Friday, I encourage everyone to properly prepare for this storm,” Bermuda Premier David Burt said in a statement on Thursday. “Let’s all remember to check on as well as look out for your seniors, family and neighbors. Stay safe.”
After passing Bermuda, Fiona will target the Atlantic edges of Canada and likely make landfall near eastern Nova Scotia on Saturday morning.
Fiona could weaken a to a Category 2 storm or extratropical cyclone, but there’s still the threat of significant damage to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.
The system could reach Quebec and southeastern Labrador early Sunday. Rainfall across Atlantic Canada will range from 3 inches to 10 inches, bringing the threat of flooding.
“It’s going to be a very large storm when it does make landfall,” said Bob Robichaud, an emergency preparedness meteorologist for Environment Canada. “This is going to cover a fairly large area.”
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The damage already left by Fiona could take weeks, months or even years to repair.
At least 8,708 homes in the Dominican Republic have been damaged or destroyed while some 210,433 people are living without power and at least 725,246 don’t have water service, according to the Center of Emergency Operations.
Much of Puerto Rico was still without power on Thursday, as temperatures neared 100 degrees, triggering an excessive heat warning. With no power and trees toppled on roadways, even reaching the most storm-damaged areas of the island remained challenging.
The Associated Press contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
