Province urges Islanders to plan ahead for Hurricane Dorian

Hurricane Dorian is inching closer to the Maritimes and the province is asking Islanders to prepare for messy weather.

Dorian is expected tolose strength when it hits colder waters, although it should remain strong enough to break branches and topple trees.

Rain from the storm is expected to come Saturday, andstrong winds will follow. The centre of the storm is forecast to pass off the eastern end of P.E.I. by early Sunday morning.

Wind gusts couldbe as high as 120 km/h, and there could be local amounts well over 100 millimetres.

CBC Meteorologist Jim Abraham expects a storm surge on the north shore and eastern areas of the province, which could cause coastal erosion.

Two cruise ships have cancelled their visits to Charlottetown because of the pending storm: SeabournQuest Thursday and Norwegian Dawn Saturday.

Get ready

Tanya Mullally, provincial emergency management coordinator,said the major concern with this particular storm is the wind, which could bring down branches and trees and take out power lines.

The provincial office has been in touch with municipalities to make sure they are prepared, and it's also busy on social media trying to reach the general public.

"We want to make sure that individuals are tying down those items that are outside, your patio furniture, the trampoline that might be in the backyard, all those things that potentially could become a danger to yourself, your propertyor somebody else," said Mullally.

Islanders should also put aside three days worth of food and water, gasup vehicles and fillpropane tanks. Scan your property for loose items that should be securedand clear the basement of items that could be damaged by flood.

With two days of fine weather forecast in advance of the storm, Abraham said Islanders have time to prepare.

"We've got a couple of nice days to think about what your vulnerabilities are and prepare yourselves for heavy rain and some strong winds and some coastal surge and waves," he said.

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