Hurricane Dorian makes landfall in Canada
Dorian was initially expected to hit as a Category 1 hurricane, but the National Hurricane Centre in Miami upgraded it to a Category 2.
Halifax: After ravaging the Bahamas and parts of US, Hurricane Dorian on Saturday made landfall in Nova Scotia province, knocking off rooftops and trees and leaving hundreds of people without power.
The hurricane made landfall near Halifax, packing with high-speed winds, high waves and dumping heavy rains.
Dorian was initially expected to hit as a Category 1 hurricane, but the National Hurricane Centre in Miami upgraded it to a Category 2 on Saturday Category 1 hurricane, but the National Hurricane Centre in Miami upgraded it to a Category 2 on Saturday, CTV News reported.
Winds are forecast to reach a high of up to 150 km/hour and waves could reach as high as 15 metres. As of now, no casualties have been reported.
Over 489,000 people are left in the dark as the hurricane made landfall across Atlantic Canada.
Even as Dorian made landfall in Nova Scotia, powerful afternoon winds clocking 100 km/hr in Halifax uprooted trees, toppled a crane and construction debris was strewn across city roads.
In the next few days, Nova Scotia is expected to bear the brunt of the hurricane while other provinces in Atlantic Canada could see extensive damage and possible flooding.
"When we get rainfall amounts that exceed 20 millimetres per hour -- which is very possible with this, almost likely, that overwhelms many systems -- and you tend to get flash flooding," Canadian Hurricane Centre's warning preparedness meteorologist Bob Robichaud said.