The town of Tantramar is asking people to prepare for Hurricane Lee by stowing away items on properties, and creating a 72 hour emergency kit. Corporate Service director Kieran Miller says town staff are monitoring conditions and are well prepared for the weekend.
It’s not clear how much rain or wind the storm will bring, but the timing of its predicted arrival seems to coincide with high tides, meaning risk of inland flooding is increased. According to tidetime.org, the tide at Hopewell Cape (across from Dorchester Cape) will be at its high point at 1:43pm Saturday afternoon, then overnight at 2:00am Sunday, and at 2:18pm Sunday afternoon.
Hurricane track images released at 3pm Friday by the Canadian Hurricane Centre show the eye of the storm hitting the southern tip of Nova Scotia by about 3pm on Saturday, and then making its way up the Bay of Fundy, reaching the coast near Kouchibouguac National Park by 3am early Sunday morning.
Environment Canada predicts rain starting late tonight, and becoming heavy by morning. The heaviest rain is expected to fall “near and to the left of the track”, according to an information statement issued at 3:38pm Friday, and current projections put Tantramar to the right. The statement also says, “high waves and elevated water levels will be widespread due to the large size of the storm – the most impacted areas are expected to cover much of the Atlantic coast of mainland Nova Scotia and to a much lesser extent, the Fundy coast of New Brunswick.”
In terms of wind, Tantramar may not see the worst of the storm, but “could see sustained winds of 70 km/h with gusts of 90 to 100 km/h,” according to Environment Canada. The statement also reads:
“Given the abundance of rainfall over the past several months, and most recently Thursday, the ground is quite saturated and will be more prone to uprooted trees, especially those that are in full foliage. Widespread power outages appear likely across most of mainland Nova Scotia and near the Fundy Coast of New Brunswick. Some structural damage to roofing materials and siding, as well as exterior fixtures and fencing are expected.”
In case of flooding that could potentially cut off West Sackville, Miller says, “a fire apparatus will be put across the tracks at route 935 as a precautionary measure in the event it is needed for Emergency Response.” And the Civic Centre would be opened as a reception centre if conditions require, says Miller, such as in the case of a prolonged power outage.
Miller says the town will post any updated information on social media channels over the weekend. The town website will not be updated as previously reported on CHMA.
The town has also tested its new Voyent Alert! emergency system in advance of the storm. Currently there are just under 2200 people registered for the emergency alert system which uses email, text, or phone calls to distribute emergency messaging.
