'We were pretty lucky': Winnipegger in Halifax recounts Fiona's wrath
As a Winnipegger living in Halifax, Justin Cross says he didn't know what to expect as post-tropical storm Fiona pummelled Atlantic Canada.
This is Cross' third year living in Halifax while attending school at Dalhousie University, and he says he has never experienced anything like he has in the past 24 hours.
"My family in Winnipeg was sending the articles of you know all the news saying it's going to be Canada's worst storm and stuff and they were kind of freaking out more than me," he told CTV News from his home in Halifax.
He said around 10 p.m. Friday night, he started to hear the winds howling.
"We looked outside and we started seeing some trees swaying a lot. And then we were all in our kitchen at around 12 and we just heard this big bang," he said.
One of the trees right in front of his house had blown over and crushed a neighbour's truck.
The aftermath of post-tropical storm Fiona in Halifax on Sept. 24, 2022. (Source: Justin Cross)
"The winds, how strong they were, I've never experienced anything like that," he said.
Fiona, one of the strongest storms to ever strike Eastern Canada, forced towns in Cape Breton and on Newfoundland's southwestern coast to declare states of emergency.
At the Halifax Stanfield International Airport wind gusts of 109 km/h were reported around 3 a.m., hitting 135 km/h at the mouth of Halifax Harbour.
READ MORE: N.L. woman missing after Fiona sweeps homes into sea, wreaks havoc across East Coast
"Waking up this morning I just went for a drive and the roads were covered. People were helping as much as they can, like cutting down branches," he said, adding no one in his area was injured.
Cross said as of Saturday, most of Halifax is without power and may be in the dark for a few days.
The aftermath of post-tropical storm Fiona in Halifax on Sept. 24, 2022. (Source: Justin Cross)
"Hopefully, we'll have enough food to get by, but some rough conditions in Halifax right now."
He said he spoke with his family Saturday morning to let them know he was okay.
"We luckily just got the outskirts of it," he said. "I think we were pretty lucky in the overall picture of things, but it definitely could have been worse."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.