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, adding that widespread power outages were likely.

Securing loose items vital

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. Each of those shelters can accommodate 60 people. Fleck said more shelters were expected to open Sunday. 

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 then 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.

Juan was also blamed for causing eight deaths, six of them in Nova Scotia. Two people in the province were killed by falling trees, three died in a fire caused by candles used during a power outage and a relief worker died weeks after the storm. As well, two fishermen died when their boat capsized in the St. Lawrence River near Anticosti Island.

Many streets in Halifax were left blocked by trees and more than 800,000 households and businesses in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia were left without power, some for two weeks.

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