Bob Robichaud, Meteorologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Screen capture from Communications Nova Scotia Zoom conference Aug 24, 2023

The province is warning Nova Scotians now is the time to prepare for an active hurricane season.

Officials from Environment Canada, Nova Scotia Power, the Red Cross and the province’s Emergency Management Office gathered together Thursday to announce an information campaign designed to inform Nova Scotians on how to ready themselves for the upcoming season.

Meteorologist Bob Robichaud says the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting 14 to 21 named storms, six to 10 hurricanes and two to five major hurricanes before the end of the year.

Robichaud says those numbers are higher than initially predicted in May and include storm activity across the entire Atlantic Ocean.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that a lot of those storms will approach Atlantic Canada or have any kind of impact on Nova Scotia but we always have to be ready for that one or two storms that might impact us,” said Robichaud.

As an example, Robichaud pointed to Hurricane Fiona and the damage it caused in September of 2022.

Robichaud was asked about Hurricane Franklin and says it is currently about 1,200km southwest of Bermuda, tracking northeast. It’s expected to reach category 2 status as it moves north over the weekend.

As of Thursday, modelling shows the hurricane will track south of Nova Scotia but Robichaud says even if it does turn towards the province it won’t be anywhere close to the power of Fiona.

He encourages people to follow trusted weather forecasting sites to get information about impending storms.

Operations Manager with the Canadian Red Cross of Nova Scotia, Ancel Langille says it’s important for families to have an emergency plan and kit ready ahead of storm season.

“Your kit should include things that will make a stay away from home more comfortable for you and your family,” said Langille. “Things like clothing, medications, if you have children some toys and games, if you have pets prepare a kit for them as well with the leash, some food, water, medications for them, a pet carrier [is] something great to have on hand. If you have a vehicle, make sure it’s full of gas before the storm arrives and it’s always great to have some cash on hand.”

Langille added if there is time, it’s a good idea to take photos or videos of the rooms of your house before you need to evacuate so you have a record to provide to your insurance company.

John Lohr, the minister responsible for emergency management in Nova Scotia says the province works closely with municipalities through the provincial control centre in times of emergency.

Lohr says the province is preparing for the upcoming Hurricane Season.

“And I would like to encourage all Nova Scotians to take some time now before a storm or weather warning is issued to our region to do the same,” said Lohr. “Before an event happens is a good time to sit down with your family and talk things over, check to see what may need to be done around your house or cottage make a plan and prepare.”

The province will be running an information campaign across social and traditional media over the next four weeks.

Updates and tips from Nova Scotia’s emergency management office are available at their website: https://novascotia.ca/Alerts

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

To listen to the radio broadcast, press play below.

Emergency alert message sent to cell phones across NS when 9-1-1 went down

Emergency calls to 9-1-1 went answered Monday morning.

A failure occurred around 7:00am which prevented residents of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island from connecting with emergency services for roughly two hours.

The minister responsible for the Emergency Management Office John Lohr says to his knowledge this may be the first time a 9-1-1 system has ever gone down anywhere in Canada.

“Our goal is not to have a split second of disruption of the 9-1-1 services,” said Lohr. “That’s our goal and just to have two hours lost this morning is very, very shocking to us.”

Officials at the EMO centre sent a message out over the Nova Scotia emergency alert system at 8:08am.

Lohr says the time was needed to gather alternate telephone numbers and ensure those numbers were correct and working before providing them to the public.

At this point, the Minister says he is unaware of any situation where someone needed help and didn’t receive it during the two hours 9-1-1 was down.

At a press availability Monday afternoon, Minister Lohr explained the 9-1-1 system is operated separately from other cellular or landline systems and is built to a more robust and higher standard than those established by the CRTC for personal and business use.

There are multiple redundancies built into the system which are supposed to prevent any disruption to the service.

Several municipalities took it upon themselves, through their social media channels, to provide residents with a list of telephone numbers their residents could call to connect with local help.

Lohr says the provincial centre informed the municipal units about the breakdown and while the two levels of government work together during emergencies, the 9-1-1 system is a provincial responsibility, and the provincial team were focused on getting help out to all corners of Nova Scotia.

“The municipalities are incredibly important partners for us in their EMO plan and each municipality has their own EMO plan,” said Lohr. “This PCC is the provincial coordination centre, we would coordinate with the municipal emergency measures offices but as Paul Mason (Director of Nova Scotia’s Emergency Management Office) has said the 9-1-1 system is overarching so that would be our responsibility.”

The 9-1-1 system is operated by Bell across the three provinces and the company is still investigating the cause of the system failure.

Lohr says he expects they will provide an update once they determine the reason for the communications blackout.

**update Feb 1: CBC is reporting Bell provided them a statement indicating the outage was the result of a software upgrade

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

Photo Ed Halverson

About 30 customers in the area surrounding Old Kettle Road outside Mill Village awoke without power this morning.

That will likely mark the start of what is predicted to be a very busy weekend for Nova Scotia Power crews as Hurricane Fiona prepares to make landfall early Saturday morning.

Chief Operating Officer with Nova Scotia Power Dave Pickles says the utility has learned from previous storms and is taking measures to ensure fewer outages and faster restore times.

“Having the right level of resources and properly located around the province for where we expect to see the most damage,” said Pickles.

He says the combination of leaves on the trees and soft ground could mean more downed trees and a larger number of power outages and that restoration efforts will be at the mercy of the weather.

“There will be a want to get out there very quickly. This event is expected to start late Friday into Saturday morning, but sustained winds will continue throughout the day. That will make it a little bit tough for us to get out when people want us to get out,” said Pickles. “The weather on Sunday is forecasting to be nice so that will help with restoration efforts. But, yeah, there are many challenges.”

Pickles says Nova Scotia Power currently has 800 personnel ready to respond and are prepared to ask neighbouring provinces for assistance if the need arises.

Any outages should be reported through the NS Power outage map or by calling 1-877-428-6004 and people should monitor the map for restoration times.

Officials from all levels of government and Emergency Management Office are warning Nova Scotians to prepare to be without power for 72 hours and to stock up on items such as water, batteries, candles and food.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

Screen shot of the path Hurricane Fiona will take as it approaches Nova Scotia. From Environment Canada web page

Department of Natural Resources and Parks Canada officials are taking no chances despite expectations Hurricane Fiona will be downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it makes landfall in Nova Scotia,

As Hurricane Fiona bares down on Nova Scotia officials with Parks Canada have decided to temporarily close Kejimkujik Park effective at noon Friday, September 23.

Anyone camping or visiting the site is being asked to leave and no one will be permitted to enter after that time.

The measures include the entire park and historic site as well as Kejimkujik Seaside in Port Joli.

Guests with bookings between Sep 23- 26 will be contacted, their reservations cancelled, and fees fully refunded.

To ensure the safety of all visitors Parks Canada officials say the closure will remain in place until conditions are safe.

The public will be updated on park conditions again on Tuesday, September 27 at noon.

Later Thursday morning the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources followed suit and announced all provincial parks would be closing Friday at noon as well.

Parks will be reopened once officials have assessed any damage and addressed safety concerns.

As of Thursday morning, Environment Canada predicts Hurricane Fiona will transform into a post tropical storm bringing very heavy rain and strong to severe wind gusts beginning Friday afternoon with the heaviest rain and wind peaking overnight into Saturday.

They are advising the public the storm has the potential to produce severe and damaging wind gusts, very high waves and coastal storm surge, and intense rainfall.

Officials from the province’s Emergency Management Office are urging all Nova Scotians to monitor local weather forecasts and be ready for the storm’s arrival by ensuring they have enough food and water for 72 hours and preparing their storm kits.

The basic checklist includes:
— having enough food and water for 72 hours
— monitoring local media outlets for updates
— securing gates, doors and windows
— moving yard furniture and securing trash cans, hanging plants and anything that can be picked up by wind
— checking radio batteries
— filling vehicles with gas and parking them away from trees
— keeping pets inside
— moving any type of watercraft to high ground
— ensuring personal and family safety
— checking on neighbours
— not leaving candles unattended.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.