‘Very dangerous storm’ Dorian causing widespread power outages, damage

#HurricaneDorian damage on Pleasant Street in Dartmouth. Another reminder that if you see a downed wire or pole, it's important to stay back and do not try to move it yourself. Report it to us at 1-877-428-6004 and stay safe. #NSstorm. pic.twitter.com/3AFvHaZsNp

— Nova Scotia Power (@nspowerinc) September 7, 2019

HALIFAX — Dorian slammed into the Maritimes on Saturday, its powerful gusts uprooting trees, tearing off roofs and yanking down power lines — leaving more than 450,000 people in the dark as the post-tropical storm made landfall near Halifax.

Torrential rain, pounding surf and howling gusts reaching up to 140 kilometres per hour were reported early in the evening, with the region’s largest city appearing to suffer the most damage.

“The most thrilling part is seeing the mature trees swaying back and forth in the yard, and watching on social media as trees go down near neighbours’ houses,” said Tim Rissesco, who lives on the east side of Halifax harbour in Dartmouth.

“The power went out hours ago, but we were well prepared … We’ve got snacks and food and we’re hunkered down in the house playing board games and watching the rain and the wind.”

There were no reports of injuries, but dramatic footage shared on social media shows a large construction crane swaying in the wind and collapsing into the side of an empty apartment building under construction in downtown Halifax.

In the city’s south end, a roof was ripped off another apartment complex. As people hurried from the building, firefighter Jeff Paris said those forced from their homes would be taken to emergency shelters.

“There are several apartment buildings being evacuated,” he said.

As the centre of the storm moved over the historic port city, the winds and rain subsided, but officials warned the storm was still packing a nasty punch.

“We’re still talking about a very dangerous storm that is transiting through the Maritimes,” Bob Robichaud, warning preparedness meteorologist with the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax, told a late-evening news conference.

As Dorian closed in on the Maritimes, it strengthened to become a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds reaching 160 km/h. However, the storm weakened by the time it came ashore and was downgraded to a post-tropical storm.

Despite the downgrade, Dorian was expected to continue producing hurricane-force winds, well in excess of 120 km/h.

“There’s some very large surf, strong winds, trees are down and trees and still coming down,” said Paul Mason, executive director of the province’s Emergency Management Office.

“There’s a lot of live wires around … Stay home. Stay off the roads.”

Other images on social media show scores of toppled trees in the port city, a ripped-up waterfront boardwalk, flooded streets and flying debris.

A weather station at Osborne Head, which is just east of Halifax on the Atlantic coast, recorded a gust of 141 kilometres per hour at 4 p.m.

Nova Scotia Power Inc. reported more than 350,000 customers were in the dark by 7 p.m., including 170,000 in the Halifax area where the wind was gusting at over 100 kilometres per hour by late afternoon.

In Prince Edward Island about 48,000 homes and businesses were without power a few hours later, as were another 62,000 in New Brunswick.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on Twitter that the federal government was ready to help Atlantic Canada, and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale tweeted that the Canadian Armed Forces would be deployed to assist with recovery efforts.

Throughout the region, tennis fans took to Twitter to bemoan the fact that power outages were forcing them to miss the U.S. Open, where Canadian Bianca Andreescu won a historic matchup in the finals.

“I am dying of jealousy at everyone watching the US Open,” said one dejected fan. “Hurricane Dorian took my power hours ago. Scrolling with bated breath… “

Meanwhile, emergency officials in the Halifax region 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 said the high-risk zones included the Sambro area, Peggys Cove and 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,” said Erica Fleck, Halifax’s assistant chief of community risk reduction.

The Canadian Red Cross opened three evacuation shelters in the Halifax region.

Fleck said she was particularly concerned by reports that many residents and businesses had failed to secure loose objects ahead of the storm.

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

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

Dorian was expected to move into the Gulf of St.

Lawrence as a strong post-tropical storm.

Iles-de-la-Madeleine was expected to see Dorian pass to the south by late Saturday, bringing winds of up to 120 km/h coupled with intense rainfall.

Jonathan Lapierre, the mayor of the island municipality, said the community has a secure satellite phone system to ensure phone lines remain operational.

In Halifax, residents were comparing the storm to hurricane Juan, a Category 2 hurricane that hit Halifax early on Sept. 29, 2003. It was 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.

—with files by Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal.