Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee brings strong winds and coastal flooding to Canada, knocking out power to tens of thousands of people

CNN
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A post-tropical cyclone Lee Officials in Florida have reported at least one death from the storm, which is forecast to gradually weaken over the next two days before moving out of Canada into the Atlantic Ocean.

Lee, once a powerful hurricane, has since spread north with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. Landslide on Saturday On Long Island, Nova Scotia, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday in its final advisory for the storm.

The storm affected tens of thousands of people and battered the coasts of the northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada with winds and waves. It is expected to move northeastward through Newfoundland on Sunday afternoon before moving over the Atlantic Monday.

At least one death was attributed to Lee-induced conditions: Authorities in Fernandina Beach, Florida, reported a 15-year-old who drowned in the surf “due to turbulent wave conditions resulting from Hurricane Lee.”

The boy was seen by witnesses Wednesday holding on to a floating canoe, “and then the boat drifted away from him,” Interim Police Chief Jeff Tambasco of the Fernandina Beach Police Department told CNN in an email.

Tropical storm force winds were 290 miles from Lee’s center on Sunday, the hurricane center said.

In Canada, about 50,000 customers were without power Sunday Nova Scotia8,000 in New Brunswick Provincial utilities were in the dark, according to outage maps.

In Maine — with winds of 83 mph reported in Perry and 63 mph in Rogue Bluffs — more than 20,000 homes and businesses were without power. PowerOutage.us. The strikes peaked on Saturday with more than 90,000 customers out in the dark, and photos from across the state showed trees downed by strong winds near homes and on roads.

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Another inch of rain is expected in parts of eastern New Brunswick, according to the Hurricane Center. Officials there warned residents to prepare for power outages and stockpile food and medicine for at least 72 hours as they encouraged people to stay indoors as they predicted the storm would turn into an upheaval for coastal communities.

“Remember, once the storm starts, stay home if possible,” Kyle Leavitt, director of New Brunswick’s emergency response agency, said Friday ahead of the storm. “Nothing good comes from checking the big waves and checking how strong the wind really is.”

In the US, states of emergency were declared in Maine and Massachusetts due to the storm. President Joe Biden has authorized the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate aid for disaster relief and necessary emergency operations.

Boston’s Logan International Airport saw a spike in flight cancellations on Saturday, with 23% of all flights to Boston canceled and 24% of flights departing from the city, according to the Flight Tracker website. FlightAware.