# Report from Canadian press



## Geoff Gower (Sep 8, 2011)

Largest waves in the world right now batter boats and offshore oil rigs in Newfoundland Workers on an oil rig peered through dense fog and reported that the waves were cresting higher than 25 metres By : Nick Faris Waves that were bigger than any other in the world on Thursday thrashed docked boats and threatened to damage buildings on the coast of Newfoundland as an unusually early severe storm bore down on the island on its way toward Europe and Africa. The tallest waves in the storm were expected to surpass 15 metres, said Environment Canada meteorologist Dale Foote. On land, furious winds measuring up to 160 km/h left swaths of Newfoundland without power, forcing schools to close and airports to cancel flights west to Halifax and Toronto. These winds generated waves that buffeted coastal fishing villages and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland south of the island “If it’s not the strongest storm on the planet today, it’s very close,” said meteorologist Bob Robichaud. “It’s certainly the biggest.” Environment Canada warned residents in communities all along the island’s east coast early on Thursday that the waves and wind could damage seaside infrastructure and homes and vehicles further inland. Later in the morning, Foote said the waves had swamped a boat that was moored to a wharf in the town of Bonavista. “Waves like this will keep most of our fishing fleets home,” Foote said. “They won’t even venture out.” Photos and videos posted to social media showed water levels rising at ferry terminals, in the Quidi Vidi harbour neighbourhood of St. John’s, the provincial capital, and at the Hibernia oil field 300 km offshore, where workers who were out on the rig peered through dense fog and reported that the waves were cresting higher than 25 metres. “We don’t usually see systems this intense,” said another meteorologist, Brian Walsh, who is based in St. John’s. In Bonavista, town clerk David Hiscock estimated that a quarter of the 3,000 people who live there reside at sea level and said their homes were in danger of being inundated. The sea fences built to keep waves from breaching the shore in Bonavista have deteriorated as storms have strengthened over the years, putting roads and other infrastructure at risk during extreme weather events. “The shore is taking an awful beating,” Hiscock said. “Those people, they’re not flooded, but they’re the next thing to it.” The force of the wind and the height of the waves observed on Thursday aren’t unprecedented, but even if similar systems blow through Newfoundland once or twice a year, they don’t typically occur until mid-to-late winter. Foote said this fall has been especially stormy, noting that strong winds already caused damage to portions of the coastline earlier this season. “It’s a continuation of what we’ve seen all fall,” Foote said of Thursday’s storm. “This just happens to be the most extreme example.” The waves are expected to abate in Newfoundland by Friday as they sweep further east through the North Atlantic Ocean. With files from


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