A major storm has set its sights on Atlantic Canada and Prince Edward Island residents need to start preparing now.
That is the message from Aaron Campbell, director of public safety with the province.
Hurricane Earl is a powerful Category 4 hurricane with winds of 217 kilometers per hour.
As it edges up the East Coast it is expected to lose strength but forecasters at the Canadian Hurricane Centre still expect Earl to hit P.E.I. as a Category 1 hurricane. That could mean winds of 119 to 153 km-h.
Exact details of how strong the storm will be and when it will hit will be known by late Thursday but it is expected to come across western parts of the province Saturday evening.
Campbell said people should not be hedging their bets about whether or not the storm will hit or how hard it will hit, they should be preparing for the storm now.
“Based on what we know today is that we are going to have a severe weather event on the weekend,” Campbell told The Guardian.
“People need to be preparing for a situation where we’re going to experience high winds and heavy rains or a possibility of both. Whether the storm is classified as a hurricane or a tropical storm it still will be a storm with some significant force that requires us all to pay attention.”
It’s the U.S. that is currently dealing with the effects of Earl.
The governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland declared states of emergency.
Officials at the Canadian Hurricane Centre held a briefing for the media on Wednesday. These briefings will be held daily between now and Saturday, when the storm is expected to hit the region.
Environment Canada Meteorologist Chris Fogarty said there is still a good chance that Earl will cross Prince Edward Island as a full-fledged hurricane.
“I would say there would be a 10 to 20 per cent chance that it would still have hurricane-force wind speeds in P.E.I., if you look at it in terms of probabilities,” said Fogarty.
Boaters at the Charlottetown Yacht Club were taking no chances with a number of boats being plucked from the harbour on Wednesday.
“We’re not really panicking yet,’’ said a spokesman with Quartermaster Marine.
Les Parsons, CEO of the Charlottetown Harbour Authority, said there isn’t much they can do to prepare.
“This one scares me more than Juan ever did,’’ Parsons said Wednesday, referring to hurricane Juan in 2003.
“We can’t do much with the breakwater. To get it out of the water is just too much effort. We do have the tender dock but it’s on the north side so, provided the winds come from the east or southeast, we’re not too bad off. If they come from the southwest that could pose a problem.’’
The City of Charlottetown is also on high alert.
The city is prepared to enact its Emergency Response Plan if need arises, said Charlottetown Fire Chief Randy MacDonald.
“If the storm approaches, our operations will be ramping up alongside it.”
Meteorologists were dealing with a host of questions about the weather on Wednesday, but it wasn’t questions about hurricane Earl.
People were talking about the extreme heat.
Temperatures pushed up to 32 C in Summerside, 31 C in Charlottetown. That breaks records dating back to 1969 when Charlottetown reached 28 C on Sept. 1.
It’s supposed to be even hotter on Thursday.
Officials at the Joint Emergency Operations Centre in Charlottetown have already met and are starting to put their plan in place for Earl.
The centre will go into operation 24 hours a day as the storm gets closer.
Campbell said residents should prepare for long-term power outages and flooding. He said now residents should look around their properties to ensure anything that can be tied down is as well as ensuring families have enough food, water and cash to get them through a long-term power outage when stores, water supplies and bank machines may not be operational.
“This is the last weekend of summer so it’s also important that people think of where they are going to be,” said Campbell, adding it may be too early to cancel those Labour Day weekend plans.
“But it’s important to monitor broadcasts and listen to instructions as they may come out from this office over the weekend period.”
