A pedestrian walks with an umbrella along the empty waterfront as heavy rain falls in Halifax on Sept. 14. Residents in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are being told to prepare for strong winds and more heavy rain this weekend as Hurricane Lee is expected to make landfall as a post-tropical storm.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
As category one Hurricane Lee barrels toward the Maritimes, some Nova Scotians still don’t have cell service to make emergency calls or receive emergency alerts – an issue politicians promised to fix after this summer’s flash flood that killed four people, including two children.
Premier Tim Houston told reporters Thursday that “we have a lot of work to do on the cell coverage,” but despite his office ramping up “internally on some expertise to focus on some possible solutions,” the problem still isn’t fixed. He said he is awaiting help from the CRTC, Canada’s telecommunications regulator, which is responsible for the National Public Alerting System.
“We understand that in 2023 people have a right to expect that they have cell service, and they understand the importance of it when we’re going through a crisis,” said Mr. Houston.
In July, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland called on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to fix cellular dead zones in Nova Scotia in the wake of the deadly floods.
François-Philippe Champagne, the federal minister responsible for the CRTC, did not respond to a request for comment.
While the storm is getting weaker, it is growing in size and is expected to have an impact on a wide swath of both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, according to the Canadian Hurricane Centre.
Environment Canada issued a hurricane watch on Thursday for Grand Manan and coastal areas of Charlotte County in New Brunswick as well as southern Nova Scotia – places where there are many fishing communities. The watch means Hurricane Lee could pack near-hurricane-strength winds as high as 120 kilometres an hour.
During a press conference on Thursday, New Brunswick Public Safety Minister Kris Austin said people should prepare for potential electrical blackouts of 72 hours with food, medication, portable radios and water. And stay away from the coastline where waves and storm surge could be unpredictable.
“I do want to stress the importance of not being complacent with this storm,” said Mr. Austin. “Don’t underestimate the impact of power outages and how long they could last depending on the severity of the storm.”
Environment Canada issued a tropical storm watch for Saint John County, Fundy National Park, and Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick as well as much of mainland Nova Scotia stretching from Halifax to Cumberland County, Lunenburg County, Hants County and the Valley region of the province.
Residents are being warned to prepare for power outages and localized flooding with the strongest impact forecast for Saturday, the Canadian Hurricane Centre’s meteorologist Ian Hubbard said Thursday afternoon.
Wind is forecast to hit 100 kilometres an hour along the coast along with an estimated 100 millimetres of rain. Four- to six-metre waves are also expected with the highest ones hitting the Bay of Fundy area. “We have to wait and see how the storm surge will coincide with the tide of the day,” said Mr. Hubbard.
Meanwhile, the Maritimes are experiencing downpours indirectly related to Lee through to Friday, which Environment Canada says is creating flood risks that could become exacerbated when Lee makes landfall.
Concerns have resounded recently about the Chignecto Isthmus, a low-lying area of land that connects New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The area is at risk of flooding owing to the need to replace or repair the dike system that keeps the corridor intact for transportation, trade and communication.
There is currently a legal fight between the federal government and the provinces over who should foot the bill for its repair or replacement, a cost that ranges from $400- to $650-million. In response to media questions about the isthmus potentially flooding as a result of Lee, Mr. Houston said: “There is a lot of engineering work that continues to take place around the isthmus and the discussion around who will pay, in the fullness of time, that discussion will continue.”
Nova Scotia said it will close its provincial parks on Friday because of predicted heavy rain, severe winds and pounding surf on Saturday from Lee.