Hurricane Dorian expected to make landfall in Nova Scotia on Saturday evening

HALIFAX – The centre of hurricane Dorian was still hundreds of kilometres from the Maritimes when its outer bands started lashing southern New Brunswick and mainland Nova Scotia with strong winds and heavy rain on Saturday.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre says the big, brawny storm was expected to make landfall near Halifax later in the evening, unleashing a heavier barrage of torrential rain, pounding surf and howling gusts reaching up to 140 kilometres per hour.

“The storm is approaching … (and) it’s still a strong storm,” said Bob Robichaud, the centre’s warning preparedness meteorologist.

Hurricane warnings remained in effect for much of mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. Tropical storm warnings were issued for P.E.I., southeastern New Brunswick and western Newfoundland.

Winds exceeding 90 km/h were reported in parts of southwestern Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick earlier in the day.

Dorian was expected to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, before moving into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where it was expected to transform into a strong post-tropical storm.

Category 1 hurricanes churn out sustained winds between 119 km/h and 153 km/h. Robichaud said Dorian’s sustained winds were expected to range between 90 km/h and 120 km/h.

“That means numerous broken trees, uprooted trees, heavy rain and the potential for flash flooding,” he said.

As the weather deteriorated in the region on Saturday afternoon, Nova Scotia Power reported that almost 100,000 customers were in the dark, including 28,000 in the Halifax area.

In New Brunswick, more than 36,000 households and businesses were without power in the early afternoon, all of them in the southern reaches of the province.

Erica Fleck, Halifax’s assistant chief of community risk reduction, said she was particularly concerned by reports that many residents and businesses had failed to secure loose objects ahead of the storm.

She said flower pots, patio furniture, children’s toys, ladders and loose construction material can become deadly projectiles when propelled by hurricane-force winds.

“We’ve been working with police, trying to identify some (construction) companies and reaching out to them,” she said at a news conference.

Fleck also said the city was encouraging downtown businesses to close before 5 p.m., suggesting residents should heed storm surge warnings and stay away from the waterfront.

“We do not want the citizens of Halifax roaming downtown as the water is coming in,” she said.

Meanwhile, emergency officials in the Halifax region have called for a voluntary evacuation of homes and businesses along the municipality’s Atlantic shoreline.

With the forecast calling for a significant storm surge and wind-driven waves reaching 15 metres, low-lying coastal communities were facing potential flooding.

Regional officials say the high-risk zones include the Sambro area, Peggys Cove and along the province’s Eastern Shore, which extends east of Halifax.

“For the people that live out that way, we urge you … to move yourself to someplace safe,” Fleck said.

The Canadian Red Cross opened three evacuation shelters in the Halifax region. Fleck said more shelters were expected to open Sunday.

Robichaud said western Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick would likely get between 50 an 100 millimetres of rain, with some areas getting up to 150 millimetres – more rainfall than usually falls in a month.

Greg MacCallum, director of New Brunswick’s Emergency Measures Organization, warned against localized and flash flooding, especially in the province’s southeast.

Outside of the Halifax area, fishermen and recreational sailors along the Atlantic coast pulled their boats out of the water or tied them with extra lines.

“Hopefully, we won’t have too many tidal surges,” said Evan d’Entremont, the 60-year-old owner of Evans Fresh Seafoods in West Pubnico, on Nova Scotia’s southwestern coast.

“That’s the killer down here.”

Farther inland, Nova Scotia apple growers were worried the gusting winds would ruin their crop, still ripening on heavily laden trees. Many farmers brought in extra help earlier in the week to pick as many apples as they could.

With rough seas forecasted, the commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic said a group of NATO warships that were visiting Halifax were pulled out of the port Friday afternoon. Four cruise ships also cancelled plans to visit the port.

Maritime Atlantic cancelled its Saturday ferry crossings between Cape Breton and Newfoundland.

With warnings circulating about extended power outages, flooding and damaging winds, many Halifax residents spent Friday stocking up on food, water and gasoline. Long lineups were reported at Halifax-area gas stations and grocery stores.

“I feel that we are completely prepared – as much as we can be – for this storm,” Fleck said. “We have taken our lessons learned from hurricane Juan.”

Hurricane Juan was a Category 2 storm that hit Halifax early on Sept. 29, 2003. It was also blamed for causing eight deaths, six of them in Nova Scotia.

Juan roared through the middle of the province and over P.E.I., its sustained winds clocked at 157 km/h. As Juan’s peak gusts hit 185 km/h to the east of the storm’s centre, it uprooted millions of trees and caused more than $200 million in property damage.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press