Storm Fiona ravages Canada's east coast

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STORY: Powerful storm Fiona slammed into eastern Canada on Saturday (September 24) with hurricane-force winds... forcing evacuations, blowing over trees and power lines and capsizing homes.

After taking its toll on Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the storm battered Newfoundland... The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it’s now likely to weaken.

Fiona made landfall between Canso and Guysborough, Nova Scotia, where the Canadian Hurricane Centre said it recorded what may have been the lowest barometric pressure of any storm to hit land in the country's history.

Utilities companies said around 95% of customers on Prince Edward Island were left without power... along with hundreds of thousands in Nova Scotia.

Christina Lamey is a communications officer for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

“Right now, the priority for emergency responders is evacuations. There are hundreds of people displaced right now. So the first step that's occurring is emergency shelter for those residents who are without a home.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the armed forces will be deployed to help with the clean-up and that the government has approved federal assistance for Nova Scotia.