![Storm Lee makes landfall in Canada, downing trees and knocking out power](https://i-invdn-com.investing.com/trkd-images/LYNXMPEJ8F02B_L.jpg)
©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A composite image shows Hurricane Lee barreling toward the Caribbean after becoming a major storm, September 8, 2023. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/Handout REUTERS
By John Morris
LOCKEPORT, Nova Scotia (Reuters) -Lee made landfall on Saturday as a post-tropical cyclone that brought hurricane force winds to a far western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, flooding roads, toppling trees and knocking out power for tens of thousands of people along the North Atlantic coast.
At least one death linked to the storm was recorded on Saturday. A motorist in the US state of Maine died after a tree fell on his vehicle, local media report.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory that Lee was moving north after making landfall Saturday on Long Island, a small island southwest of Halifax. The still strong weather system produced maximum sustained winds of 60 mph with higher gusts, forecasters said.
Lee, now located about 60 kilometers east-southeast of Eastport, Maine and about 215 kilometers west of Halifax, is expected to weaken steadily over the coming days.
It brought strong winds, coastal flooding and heavy rainfall to parts of coastal Maine and Atlantic Canada.
In the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, about 120,000 people were without power on Saturday as winds toppled trees and cut power lines. In neighboring New Brunswick (NYSE:), nearly 20,000 people experienced power outages.
“Crews have managed to restore power to some customers… but conditions are continuing to deteriorate. In many cases, especially when winds exceed 80 km/h (49.7 mph), it is not safe for our crews,” said Matt The Nova Scotia Electric Company driver said earlier on Saturday.
Winds have reached more than 100 km/h in parts of the west and more than 90 km/h in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia’s largest city, he said in a statement. Halifax airport was closed to all flights.
Nearly 70,000 customers in Maine were without power late Saturday, according to the website PowerOutages.us.
Heavy waves crashing against Nova Scotia’s coastline littered flooded coastal roads with debris in some places.
“The intensity of the storm is strong,” said Paul Mason, executive director of the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office. “The storm surge is expected to be heaviest in the afternoon through early evening.”
The storm could bring an additional 20 to 50 millimeters of rain to parts of eastern Maine and New Brunswick in Canada, the NHC said, highlighting the risk of flooding in these areas.
“Lee will continue to impact the region this evening with showers or showers, high winds and high waves along the Atlantic coast,” the Canadian Hurricane Center said in a statement.
Ahead of the storm’s impact, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration issued an emergency declaration for Maine and Massachusetts, providing federal assistance to the states.
Lee has been raging across the Atlantic Ocean like a major hurricane for more than a week, briefly threatening Bermuda, but is largely harmless to anyone on land. It is the second year in a row that such a powerful storm has hit Canada after Hurricane Fiona entered Eastern Canada a year ago.