Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Tropische storm treft Canada..

Tropical Storm Kyle hits Canada by Matt Taylor

Hurricane force winds and torrential rainfall pounded the north-eastern US seaboard and south-eastern Canada on Sunday.

Tropical Storm Kyle, which originated just east of the Bahamas, travelled north across the western Atlantic over the past two days, gathering force and was temporarily upgraded to a hurricane on Saturday and Sunday.

Kyle first made landfall late Sunday evening just north of Yarmouth, on the southern tip of Nova Scotia province, then tracked north over the Bay of Fundy, on route to New Brunswick.

Before arriving in Canada, Kyle delivered a glancing blow to Maine, producing up to 178mm (7 inches) of rain. Roads were closed due to flooding, power lines were downed and early autumn leaves were ripped from trees.

Kyle is the 11th named storm and the 6th hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane season. However, hurricanes rarely reach this part of the northeast USA and Canada.

The last hurricane to hit Nova Scotia was exactly 5 years ago, when the devastating Hurricane Juan killed 8 people and caused over $200 million in damages.