Cape Bretoners tracking progress of Hurricane Ernesto

With Hurricane Ernesto now headed towards Bermuda, people in Cape Breton are keeping a close eye on the track of the storm after getting hit hard by one two years ago.

"We got hit with Fiona last time, and I just don't want it to be a round two,” said Sydney resident Jason Dawe.

Like most people in the Sydney area, Dawe remembers all too well the toppled trees, downed power lines and days on end without electricity when post-tropical storm Fiona battered the Maritimes in September 2022.

"Well, we lost power for a few weeks and not only that it was next-to-impossible to get a generator,” Dawe remembered. “So what I had to do, I had to drive to New Brunswick to buy a generator."

Lyle Donovan is the emergency management coordinator for Victoria County, where people remember not only Fiona but also a fall 2021 storm that tore up large sections of the Cabot Trail.

“We've been touched by Mother Nature in the past, and people see the significance of being well-prepared,” Donovan said.

Victoria County EMO keeping residents posted on Ernesto's progress, but with the storm's impact in the Maritimes still uncertain, Donovan says it's important that information be shared from credible sources to not create unnecessary fear.

"We take our messaging from proper, accountable resources, like EMO Nova Scotia and Environment Canada, we want people to get the right, correct message,” Donovan said.

For some, extreme weather events they have lived through in recent years has changed the way they prepare.

Dawe said he met a man Thursday morning who was filling jerry cans and a generator with gas.

"He said 'Yup, I'm not going to be like the last time.' He said, 'I wasn't prepared, and I had to do without,’” Dawe said.

While the hope is that Ernesto will continue to bear east and out to sea, Donovan is encouraging people to have 72 hours' worth of supplies just in case.

"We've got our messaging system ready to go,” he said. “We've got our comfort centres ready to go - we've got comfort centres in every community in the municipality."

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.