By Branson Brooks

Howard University News Service

Bermuda and parts of Canada are next on Hurricane Fiona’s trail.

“Fiona is a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and there’s some slight weakening that is expected,” said Maria Torres, a meteorologist for the National Hurricane Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“However, Fiona is forecast to be a large and powerful post tropical cyclone with hurricane force winds when it moves over Nova Scotia, Friday night and Saturday,” said Torres, who also serves as communication and public affairs officer.

Canada residents are still waiting to see what Fiona’s impact will be. Canada’s National Hurricane Center says this could be a “landmark weather event.”

In Bermuda, officials issued a public advisory early Wednesday morning that specified, “Tropical storm conditions are expected, and hurricane conditions are possible, on Bermuda by late Thursday or early Friday,” the National Hurricane Center said.

This comes days after Hurricane Fiona destroyed parts of Turks and Caicos, and Puerto Rico, leaving at least eight people dead.

While Turks and Caicos didn’t face any reported casualties like Puerto Rico, they are still dealing with property damages and power outages. Nigel Dakin, governor of Turks and Caicos, expressed how thankful he was that they experienced little damage.

Dakin also expressed his gratitude to the British Commando Engineers and TCI regiment for responding to the storm.

“We can thank God that a Category 3 passed over us with little serious damage and no loss of life or serious injury,” he said on his LinkedIn page. “And we can also say thank you to the team – in its widest sense – dispersed throughout the islands that were well prepared to do their duty, and then did it.”

Jennifer Cummings has friends and family in Turks and Caicos who have been witnessing the storm firsthand.

“There’s some damage,” Cummings said. “Currently, the entire island is without electricity. Damages are minimal, just little pools of water in some areas, but nothing major to complain about besides them being without electricity.”

The National Hurricane Center predicts that Bermuda will see at least one to three inches of rainfall.That is the least amount out of all the territories that have been hit. However, with Hurricane Fiona being at its strongest, the devastation will most likely continue.

Branson Brooks is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.