Perilous Times and Climate Change
Hurricane Igor hits Canada with heavy winds, rains, floods
The Associated Press
Tuesday, September 21, 2010; 2:19 PM
ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland -- Hurricane Igor pelted eastern Canada with
heavy rain Tuesday, flooding communities, washing out roads and
stranding some residents in their homes. In the Pacific, a mild
tropical storm formed and was expected to cross the Mexican resort area
of Baja California later in the day.
Forecasters issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch for
Igor on the coast of Newfoundland, on Canada's eastern coast.
"This is not your normal heavy rainfall flooding. It's having a major
impact," said Chris Fogarty, of the Canadian Hurricane Centre. He said
more than 200 millimeters (8 inches) of rain have already fallen in
some regions in the past few hours.
Dennis Shea of the province's Emergency and Fire Services office said
several communities have been cut off by high water and in some cases
boats have been used to rescue people from their own homes. At least
three towns, Clarenville, Marystown and Terrenceville, declared states
of emergency because of localized flooding that made roads impassable.
Marystown Mayor Sam Synard said the storm was overwhelming his
community's capacity to cope.
"We've never seen such a violent storm before," Synard said. "We've
lost sections of our main roads, completely washed out to sea."
Keith Rodway, a member of Clarenville town council, said parts of his
town had to be evacuated.
There have been no reports of injuries or fatalities.
The Pacific tropical storm, Georgette, had maximum sustained winds near
40 mph (65 kph), but was expected to weaken as it moves over the Baja
California peninsula later Tuesday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center
in Miami said Georgette was expected to dissipate by early Thursday.
Georgette was located about 10 miles (15 kilometers) south of Cabo San
Lucas, Mexico, on Tuesday morning and was moving north-northwest near 9
mph (15 kph). A tropical storm warning was issued for southern Baja
California.
Along eastern Canada, Igor was transforming to a post-tropical storm,
which has a different structure from a hurricane but still packs the
same punch, Fogarty said.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Wayne Edgecombe said heavy rains
that flooded a key bridge in southern Newfoundland have left the Burin
Peninsula's 20,000 residents cut off from the rest of the province.
Edgecombe said roads all over the peninsula have been washed out or
submerged, but so far there have been no major crises.
About 20,000 people live on the Burin Peninsula.
Igor doggedly stayed just above hurricane strength, with maximum
sustained winds near 80 mph (130 kph). On Tuesday, the storm center was
about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north-northeast of St. John's,
Newfoundland and moving to the northeast near 46 mph (74 kph), the U.S.
National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Schools have been closed and some flights at the St. John's
International Airport have been delayed or canceled. The Canadian
company Husky Energy evacuated workers from two semi-submersible
drilling rigs working the White Rose offshore oil field, spokeswoman
Colleen McConnell said.
"We're as ready as we possibly can be ready," said Dennis O'Keefe, the
mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland.
Igor left behind power outages, grounded boats and downed trees in
Bermuda and kicked up dangerous surf on the U.S. Atlantic coast. After
brushing past Bermuda, which escaped major damage, Igor veered away
from the United States, but forecasters said it could still cause high
surf and dangerous rip currents along U.S. beaches.
A 21-year-old man died while surfing in the storm-churned waves off
Surf City, North Carolina, where he was pulled from the water Sunday
afternoon. Last week, high surf kicked up by Igor swept two people out
to sea in the Caribbean - one in Puerto Rico and another in the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
Across Los Cabos - a string of Mexican resort towns at the tip of Baja
California - boat owners scrambled to tie down yachts, while restaurant
workers hauled in chairs and tables ahead of Georgette's arrival.
Tourists canceled fishing trips at the last minute and hunkered down
inside luxury hotels for board games and spa sessions.
"I had two foreign tourists booked to go fishing today, but the port
closed," said boat operator Jose Cesena.
One local family had to be rescued overnight from a flooded home, said
Gregorio Perez, a local civil protection officer. Civil Protection
Director Francisco Cota Marquez said shelters were being prepared but
there were no evacuations yet.
Only light rain fell Tuesday morning, but winds kicked up 6-foot
(2-meter) waves.
Meanwhile far out in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Lisa formed early
Tuesday with winds near 45 mph (75 kph). The storm was located about
530 miles (850 kilometers) west-northwest of the Cape Verde Islands off
the coast of Africa.
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Associated Press writer Rob Gillies in Toronto and Ignacio Martinez in
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico contributed to this report.