Hurricane Fiona Made Landfall In Canada Overnight With 'Powerful' Winds & Caused So Much Damage

Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Canada overnight with strong winds, heavy rain and large waves that caused so much damage across the storm's path.

Environment Canada's Canadian Hurricane Centre said that post-tropical storm Fiona is impacting Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec with "powerful" hurricane-force winds on Saturday, September 24.

Conditions are expected to improve in western Nova Scotia and eastern New Brunswick later in the day on Saturday but will continue elsewhere.

In an update of the tropical cyclone statement at about 6:00 a.m. AT, it was confirmed that Fiona made landfall over eastern Guysborough County in Nova Scotia earlier in the morning.

Widespread wind gusts of 90 km/h to 120 km/h had been reported in Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Quebec's Îles-de-la-Madeleine and southwestern Newfoundland.

Peak gusts of 161 km/h were recorded over Beaver Island, which is about an hour and a half east of Halifax.

Rainfall amounts had already reached between 75 millimetres and 125 millimetres in parts of mainland Nova Scotia and P.E.I.

As the storm moves through Atlantic Canada, people are posting photos and videos of the rain, wind, flooding and damage.

Some of the damage caused by Fiona in Nova Scotia includes downed trees that have landed on cars, blocked roads and taken out power lines.

People have also seen explosions in the sky as power lines are damaged by the storm.

Charlottetown Police posted photos of down wires, flooded streets and a tree coming through the roof of someone's house and said, "Conditions are like nothing we've ever seen."

In Newfoundland, people have shared that houses on the coast have been battered by the wind and waves so much that they're hanging off the edge of cliffs.

Some buildings have also been swept away by the storm, leaving debris along roads.

In an update at 9:00 a.m. AT on Saturday, the Canadian Hurricane Centre shared that Fiona was over western Cape Breton.

It's now forecast to track northward through the day and reach the lower north shore of Quebec and southeastern Labrador later tonight.

Severe winds and rainfall are still happening in P.E.I., Nova Scotia, southern and eastern New Brunswick, western Newfoundland and eastern Quebec.

While rainfall amounts of 100 millimetres to 200 millimetres are expected, it's possible that even more rain could come down closer to Fiona's path.

"There are also large waves, especially for the southwest coast of Newfoundland, Atlantic coasts of Nova Scotia, and eastern portions of the Gulf of St. Lawrence," the Canadian Hurricane Centre said.

According to The Weather Network, Fiona transitioned from a tropical cyclone into a post-tropical cyclone before it made landfall.

That means it's fuelled by upper-level winds, not thunderstorms around the centre of the storm. So, the storm will be slow to weaken even though it's over land now.