Nova Scotia is bracing for a potentially severe weekend storm as Hurricane Fiona gets closer.
The provinces Emergency Management Office held a briefing to providing updates on what they are doing to get ready for the weekend storm. The briefing includes representatives from Nova Scotia Power, Red Cross and Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
The Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office is asking people to prepare for Fiona by:
- Having enough food and water to last 72 hours.
- Securing any objects that can be blown around by wind (such as patio furniture).
- Moving boats to high ground.
- Filling vehicles with gas and parking them away from trees.
- Keeping pets indoors.
- Checking radio batteries and flashlights.
- Checking in on neighbours
When it comes to buying your storm food and supplies, Ancel Langille, with the Canadian Red Cross, tells us people don’t need to spend a lot of money to put an emergency kit together.
”You may already have the items,” he explained. “I’m thinking soup, can opener, bottled water, extra medication and supplies for your pet. It doesn’t have to be elaborate.”
Meantime, Nova Scotia Power will open its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Friday at 8am, ahead of the first Hurricane expected to impact Nova Scotia this season.
“We have been monitoring Hurricane Fiona for several days and have been taking steps to prepare,” said Sean
Borden, Nova Scotia Power’s storm lead. “Based on the recent weather forecasts, we are opening our
Emergency Operations Centre Friday at 8am to ensure proper plans and crews are in place to manage our storm
response.”
Currently, the storm’s track indicates the strongest winds will be felt around the northern portion of the province into Cape Breton, Borden indicated they intend to dispatch additional crews to that area but said a decision on how many extra crews will be dispatched will be made closer to when the storm makes landfall.
Borden also said throughout the summer NSP crews and external contractors executed the annual power line clearing program and the lines are prepared for the storm as best as they can be.
The EOC provides a central place to coordinate planning for outage restoration and response. It is staffed with employees from across the company.
“We are taking every precaution and will be ready to respond to Hurricane Fiona as safely and efficiently as
possible,” said Borden.
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