By Eric Martyn and John Morris

HALIFAX (Reuters) – Powerful storm Fiona slammed into eastern Canada on Saturday, with hurricane-force winds knocking down trees and power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the storm’s core, downgraded to post-tropical cyclone Fiona, was now in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Lawrence after crossing Nova Scotia.

“It was crazy, it looked like the whole roof was going to explode,” said Gary Hatcher, a retiree who lives in Sydney, Nova Scotia, near where the storm hit.

Fiona, which hit Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean nearly a week ago, made landfall between Canso and Guysborough, Nova Scotia, where the Canadian Hurricane Center said it recorded what could have been to be the lowest barometric pressure of any storm to reach land. in the history of the country.

“We stayed up all night,” Dave DeBlois said, adding there was no major damage to his home. “It was a bit scary at times, you could feel the house shaking.”

About 79% of consumers have lost power in Nova Scotia, according to utilities. The area also suffered from spotty cell service. Area police reported several road closures.

The storm weakened a bit as it headed north. At 8 a.m. local time, he was in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Lawrence, about 340 km from Halifax, with maximum winds of 140 km/h and to the north, the American Center said.

Experts predicted high winds, storms and heavy rain. The storm is expected to gradually weaken but maintain hurricane-force winds through Saturday afternoon, the Center said.

Designated a hurricane as it hit the Caribbean islands earlier this week, the storm killed at least eight people and knocked out power to all of Puerto Rico’s 3.3 million people during a ‘heat wave. Almost a million people were still without power five days later.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday postponed his departure to Japan, where he will attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to receive briefings and support the government’s emergency response, the press secretary said. Cecely Roy on Twitter.

The storm could be stronger than Hurricane Juan in 2003 and Hurricane Dorian in 2019, Canadian Hurricane Center meteorologist Bob Robichaud said Friday.

The country’s two largest airlines, Air Canada and WestJet, have suspended regional service since Friday.