The storm has made its way up from the US to Atlantic CanadaStorm Dorian has made landfall in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia as a post-tropical cyclone.The powerful storm hit Halifax on Saturday with winds of 100mph (160km/h), toppling trees and cutting power to more than 450,000 homes.Canada's Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the military would be deployed to help recovery efforts.It comes days after Dorian devastated the Bahamas. The death toll there is 43 but is expected to increase further.The hurricane has since moved up the US eastern seaboard. The Canadian Hurricane Centre labelled it a "very intense post-tropical cyclone".Officials said it had already dropped more than 100 millimetres (four inches) of rain on Nova Scotia and could double by Sunday morning.
The storm is expected to pass over northern Newfoundland and eastern Labrador early on Sunday.Residents close to the shore were advised to evacuate as a precaution.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been briefed on the storm.
Twitter post by @JustinTrudeau
@JustinTrudeau
Just received a briefing with @HarjitSajjan, @RalphGoodale and @CDS_Canada_CEMD about the latest information on Hurricane Dorian. The safety of Canadians is our number one priority and we’re ready to help Atlantic Canada through this storm.
Officials believe hundreds of bodies are yet to be found in areas flattened by the winds or smashed by storm surges.Thousands of people have been queuing in Grand Bahama hoping to board cruise ships offering free passage to Florida. On Saturday, a cruise ship carrying 1,400 people docked in Riviera Beach, Florida.
Hurricane Dorian: Path of destruction
Hurricane Dorian is starting to weaken as it skirts past the Carolinas - but still brings the risk of flooding, high winds, heavy and rains.Communities in the Bahamas are coming to terms with the scale of destruction left by the storm, with thousands of people in need of aid after their homes were destroyed.The slow-moving hurricane was the most powerful storm to hit the Bahamas since records began, bringing sustained winds of up to 185mph (298km/h) at its peak, storm surges and flooding.At least 30 people died as a result of the storm in the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, in the north of the Bahamas archipelago, but numbers are expected to be much higher as hundreds of people are still missing.In the United States, at least four people are reported to have died because of the storm and there are still warnings of storm surges and flash floods in South and North Carolina.
Where has been hit?Dorian made landfall on Sunday (1 Sept) as a category five hurricane, battering the islands. Its slow progress across the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama on Monday and Tuesday, intensified the extent of the damage.High winds, heavy rain and seawater flooding have decimated some areas.Bahamas Minister of National Security Marvin Dames said the devastation in the Abaco Islands' Marsh Harbour was "beyond what anyone can imagine"."Many of the homes have been totally destroyed and so we're going to certainly need, as a government, and a people, a massive rebuilding strategy, a plan, after after all of this. It's very sad."The government has warned the death toll will be "staggering".
As rescue and relief operations get under way, the United Nations has said that 70,000 people in the Bahamas are in need of aid.The International Red Cross fears nearly half of homes on Grand Bahama and the Abacos - around 13,000 properties - have been severely damaged or destroyed.The worst hit island, Great Abaco, is described as virtually uninhabitable, with no water, power or food, and militias patrolling the streets to stop looting.
Survivor Ramond King, from Marsh Harbour, said everything was gone."Yes, I did witness the storm, I was in the front room and I watched a tornado carry my roof," he told Reuters. "I was just there, like: this can't be real, this can't be real."Many people in Grand Bahama were forced to flee to the roofs of their homes to escape the rising flood waters, which covered most of the island at one stage. Floods levels are now said to be receding.PM Minnis said while there was widespread destruction, "what was most significant, those homes that were built on stilts were not damaged".
Storm surges could be devastatingAs well as dangerous wind speeds, authorities issued warnings of life-threatening storm surgesalong the whole length of the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.Storm surges are caused when huge volumes of water are pushed by hurricane-force winds. When they meet land, the water surges inshore at levels far exceeding normal tides.
Where is it heading?From the Bahamas, the storm edged northwards to the east of Florida, edging along South Carolina and by 15:00 GMT on Friday was lashing the Outer Banks of North Carolina.Dorian was a category five hurricane when it struck the Bahamas, but has since been downgraded to a category one, still powerful with winds of around 90mph (150km/h).
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says Dorian is slowly weakening as it moves towards the north east and is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds as it approaches Nova Scotia on Saturday.
But even without making landfall, hurricane-force winds extend out up to 45 miles (75km) from the centre and could still blast the coastal state.The NHC warned some areas of the Carolina coast could see dangerous storm surges of up to seven feet (2.1m) and between three and eight inches of rain.
Dorian's strengthAt category five, Dorian was the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, with some gusts reaching 200mph (321km/h). It is the fifth Atlantic hurricane to reach the highest category in the last four years. Hurricane Irma in 2017 was also category five and caused widespread damage across the Leeward Islands, Caribbean and Florida keys, damaging roads, buildings, airports and harbours.Grand Bahama was also hit by category five Hurricane Matthew in 2016 - many residents had yet to fully rebuild their houses before Dorian's arrival.Piles of rubble and splintered homes are slowing down search efforts in the Bahamas
By Paula Newton and Christina Maxouris,
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) references a map held by acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan while talking to reporters following a briefing from officials about Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office at the White House September 04, 2019 in Washington, DC. The map was a forecast from August 29 and appears to have been altered by a black marker to extend the hurricane's range to include Alabama. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) references a map held by acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan while talking to reporters following a briefing from officials about Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office at the White House September 04, 2019 in Washington, DC. The map was a forecast from August 29 and appears to have been altered by a black marker to extend the hurricane's range to include Alabama. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump relentlessly defends use of altered Dorian map
Volunteers with search dogs are scouring neighborhoods flattened by the hurricane. Global relief agencies rushed to get food and shelter to about 70,000 people left homeless on two northern islands.
The death toll is now at 43, and expected to rise drastically, officials said. Hundreds remain missing, likely buried under rubble on Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands by the strongest hurricane ever to hit the archipelago nation.
"It was like an atomic bomb went off," said Sherrie Roberts, who survived on the Abaco Islands when Dorian struck a week ago as a Category 5 monster, then lingered for days over the same wrecked places.
Search and rescue personnel arrived with cadaver dogs, body bags and coolers to store human remains, said Joy Jibrilu, director general of the country's tourism and aviation ministry.
Workers also brought equipment to count the dead and to understand the scope of damage, Jibrilu said.
Residents are trying to leave ravaged islands
Some have left the devastated areas for other parts of the nation or elsewhere.
About 1,400 evacuees arrived Saturday in Palm Beach, Florida, aboard the Grand Celebration humanitarian cruise ship.
Pat Allard, 83, of Massachusetts said she went to the Bahamas before the storm to take care of her condo. She held back tears as she described the horrors of the hurricane.
Hurricane Dorian begins to flood downtown Charleston
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) references a map held by acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan while talking to reporters following a briefing from officials about Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office at the White House September 04, 2019 in Washington, DC. The map was a forecast from August 29 and appears to have been altered by a black marker to extend the hurricane's range to include Alabama. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(CNN)Dorian tore across Canada's Atlantic coast early Sunday, knocking out power to half a million customers despite losing some strength after leaving the United States.The storm was a Category 1 hurricane when it made one final US stop in New England. It downgraded into a post-tropical cyclone and made landfall Saturday evening near Sambro Creek in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Its heavy rains and powerful winds downed trees in in Nova Scotia and surrounding areas, with threatening surf expected to affect the coast of Canada over the next few days.
Before its landfall in Canada, Dorian's nearly two-week path unleashed devastation in the Bahamas, where it flattened homes and swept away neighborhoods, leaving at least 43 people dead. It's left as many as 70,000 people homeless in the islands.
In the United States, several cities were cleaning up after it made landfall in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and brushed other East Coast states. Five deaths have been blamed on the storm so far.
Hurricane warnings still in effect
The storm is still dangerous with maximum sustained winds equivalent to a hurricane. Hurricane warnings remain in effect for parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, the National Hurricane Center said. It added that 500,000 customers have lost power across the Canadian Maritimes, which include the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Bahamians look for way off storm-ravaged island as death toll climbs to 43
Bahamians look for way off storm-ravaged island as death toll climbs to 43
It's packing maximum winds near 90 mph, which are occurring mainly over water, the National Hurricane Center said. The post-tropical cyclone is forecast to drop below hurricane strength Sunday.
The hurricane center downgraded it from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone Saturday. The loss of its hurricane status means it no longer has a warm core, CNN meteorologist Gene Norman said.
"While the change in classification is technical, the fact of the matter is it's still a dangerous situation and people in the area should not let their guard down," Norman said.
