MONTREAL (AFP) – Earl lost its tropical storm status over Canada, US government forecasters announced, but the storm still left one person dead and nearly one million people without power in northeastern Canada.
The storm also menaced the US East Coast but left it largely undamaged. “Earl is now post-tropical, and weakening is expected during the next 48 hours,” the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.
Early Sunday, the center of the storm was located 180 miles (295 kilometers southwest of Mary’s Harbour, in the Canadian region of Labrador, the NHC said.
It was packing sustained winds of 65 miles (100 kilometers) an hour and moving north-northeast at 46 miles (74 kilometers) an hour.
The center of the storm made landfall in southern Nova Scotia shortly after 11:00 am (1400 GMT) on Saturday, but the Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) later said its strength steadily fell as it buffeted the craggy coastline.
Although weakened, Earl still pounded Halifax, the region’s largest city, with high winds and rain.
By late afternoon, one man was killed after falling off his boat in Nova Scotia and some 210,000 homes and 940,000 people in the region were without power.
Greater Moncton International Airport canceled all flights Saturday, and Halifax Stanfield International Airport was under partial operation.
Earlier this week, Earl lashed several hundred kilometers (miles) of the US East Coast seaboard with heavy rains and strong winds, disrupting holiday plans for millions and prompting evacuations in North Carolina.
It had also prompted hurricane warnings in the northeastern US state of Massachusetts, notably its vacation destinations including Cape Cod and the tiny islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.
