Emergency preparations underway in Nova Scotia ahead of Hurricane Lee
Preparations are underway in Nova Scotia as Hurricane Lee heads toward the province.
Officials say now is the time to make sure you have an emergency kit and your property is secure.
Nova Scotia Power says it is taking the storm “very seriously” and is developing a strategy to respond quickly to any outages. The utility will activate its emergency operations center at noon Friday.
“We’re working with our contractors in and outside of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and other provinces, as available,” says storm manager Matt Drover.
“We are starting to confine teams as we get closer to the storm hitting the province. By Friday, we will have teams on stage across the province.
The utility’s biggest concern ahead of the system is the potential impact of high winds.
“While we work year-round on vegetation management, tree pruning and tree removal, the reality is that there are still many trees throughout the province and we anticipate that these will be the repairs we make when the trees fall and land on the power grid. lines,” says Drover.
He expects hundreds of workers to be in the field this weekend.
The province’s Emergency Management Office is also working on its response. The director of the incident management division said the provincial coordination center would be inaugurated at noon on Friday.
“We prepared and met with all of our key stakeholders, contacting the fuel industry, the telephone companies – Bell and Eastlink, the fuel companies – Imperial and Irving, as well as municipalities,” explains Jason Mew.
The Canadian Red Cross has put its volunteers on standby and supplies are being repositioned throughout the Atlantic region.
“Shelters are always our go-to for this type of response,” says Matt Cottingham, emergency management coordinator for central Nova Scotia. “It’s always a collaborative effort with the community to make sure people’s needs are met and no gaps are missed.”
The Red Cross and EMO recommend having an emergency kit with 72 hours of food, water and other supplies like flashlights, batteries and a first aid kit.
In the meantime, U-Haul says that in times like these, propane is a reliable fuel source.
In a statement, Atlantic Canada District Vice President Tracey Higgs says distributors are expected to be extremely busy over the coming days.
“We have ensured that all facilities in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador are supplied with sufficient propane, and we have reserved refills for Friday before the storm hits,” she said.
“Our facilities will be open regular hours, pumping propane all day and helping our neighbors prepare for the storm’s arrival.”
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