Halifax, Sept. 8: Residents help clear a tree felled by post-tropical storm Dorian, which knocked out power for hundreds of thousands in the province after it made landfall there.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
The latest
- Utilities crews across Atlantic Canada were scrambling to restore power Monday after post-tropical storm Dorian left the region scarred by strong winds and torrential rain. Nova Scotia Power reported early Monday morning that nearly 200,000 of its customers were still waiting to be reconnected, while thousands more in the other Atlantic provinces faced a similar fate.
- “To everyone dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian: Canadians are with you,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted Sunday, saying he had been in touch with the premiers of Nova Scotia and PEI, which were hit most directly by the storm over the weekend.
- Dorian left behind a trail of death and destruction in the southeastern United States and the Bahamas. At least 44 people were killed in the Bahamas, five in the continental U.S. and one in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. The Bahamas casualties included Canadian teacher Alishia Sabrina Lioli. The Windsor, Ont., resident’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to bring her body to Canada, with any extra funds used to help rebuild the school where she worked.
- The Red Cross, the United Nations and governments throughout the Americas are amassing millions of dollars for relief efforts in what could be one of the costliest natural disasters since 2017, when hurricanes Harvey and Maria hit the Caribbean and U.S. coasts.
What do hurricane categories mean?

STORM SURGE (feet)
4
6
9
13
18+
5
250+
Catastrophic
4
WIND SPEED (km/h)
210
Extreme
DAMAGE
3
178
Extensive
2
154
Moderate
1
119
Minimal
980+
979
964
944
Less than
920
PRESSURE (mbars)
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: NOAA

STORM SURGE (feet)
4
6
9
13
18+
5
250+
Catastrophic
4
210
Extreme
WIND SPEED (km/h)
DAMAGE
3
178
Extensive
2
154
Moderate
1
119
Minimal
980+
979
964
944
Less than
920
PRESSURE (mbars)
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: NOAA

STORM SURGE (feet)
4
6
9
13
18+
5
250+
Catastrophic
4
210
Extreme
WIND SPEED (km/h)
DAMAGE
3
178
Extensive
2
154
Moderate
1
119
Minimal
980+
979
964
944
Less than
920
PRESSURE (mbars)
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: NOAA
Hurricanes are tropical cyclones, a type of storm that forms in the Atlantic or eastern North Pacific in which wind and moisture spin very fast around a low-pressure centre. But not all tropical cyclones are hurricanes: To get that designation, a cyclone has to have a top sustained windspeed of at least 119 kilometres an hour. From there, hurricanes are classified using the Saffir-Simpson windspeed scale. It goes from Category 1 to Category 5, but 5 has no upper limit, so there is no such thing as a Category 6 or higher. As the storm dies down, it eventually loses hurricane status, becoming a post-tropical storm (63 to 118 km/h) and then a post-tropical depression (62 km/h or less).
At its peak intensity, Dorian was a Category 5 on Sept. 1 when it was approaching the Bahamas, then stalled there and stayed at Category 4. It hovered between Category 2 and 3 status as it raked across the U.S. coast, but weakened as it left North Carolina and headed toward Nova Scotia. It was still just barely a hurricane when it made landfall at Nova Scotia’s Sambro Creek on Sept. 7, then crossed the province and the Gulf of St. Lawrence as a post-tropical storm.
How do hurricanes form? Globe science reporter Ivan Semeniuk explains

A view of damaged buildings on Great Abaco Island on Sept. 5, days after Dorian stalled in the ocean nearby.Jose Jimenez/Getty Images)

In a church in Marsh Harbor on Great Abaco, Dorian survivors take shelter inside a church.Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
The devastation so far
The Bahamas destroyed
The storm’s most destructive impact has been on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, whose combined population is about 70,000. Neither island is much more than 12 metres above sea level at their highest points. Over the Labour Day weekend, the islands were flooded with walls of water reaching the second floors of buildings, and on Sept. 1 gusts of up to 355 kilometres an hour flattened homes. Forty-four people have been confirmed dead so far, including Alishia Sabrina Lioli of Windsor, Ont., who taught at a school in the Abaco Islands.

Alishia Sabrina Lioli.Facebook
The storm has left the Bahamas in a humanitarian crisis. As many as 13,000 homes may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. Food may be required for 14,500 people on Abaco and 45,700 people on Grand Bahama, the UN World Food Programme said in a statement. Churches in South Florida, some of whose parishioners are descended from Miami’s earliest settlers from the Bahamas, spearheaded a donation drive of water, food and household supplies to be flown to the devastated islands.

dorian’s aftermath
A satellite photo taken of the western part of Grand Bahama Island after the passage of Hurricane Dorian shows the extent of devastating flooding. The yellow line denotes the coastline before the storm and how far the water has advanced. The black areas are what remain of dry land.
Fla.
DETAIL
Grand Bahama
Nassau
BAHAMAS
CUBA
0
150
KM
Original coastline
GRAND
BAHAMA
Grand Bahama Int’l Airport
Grand Bahama Hwy.
Freeport
0
4
KM
MURAT YÜKSELIR/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE:
TILEZEN; OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS; HIU;
REUTERS; ICEYE

dorian’s aftermath
A satellite photo taken of the western part of Grand Bahama Island after the passage of Hurricane Dorian shows the extent of devastating flooding. The yellow line denotes the coastline before the storm and how far the water has advanced. The black areas are what remain of dry land.
DETAIL
Grand Bahama
Fla.
Nassau
BAHAMAS
CUBA
0
150
KM
Original coastline
Grand Bahama Int’l Airport
GRAND BAHAMA
Grand Bahama Hwy.
Queen’s Hwy.
Freeport
0
2
KM
MURAT YÜKSELIR/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: TILEZEN;
OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS; HIU; REUTERS; ICEYE

dorian’s aftermath
A satellite photo taken of the western part of Grand Bahama Island after the passage of Hurricane Dorian shows the extent of devastating flooding. The yellow line denotes the coastline before the storm and how far the water has advanced. The black areas are what remain of dry land.
Fla.
Grand Bahama
DETAIL
Nassau
Original coastline
BAHAMAS
CUBA
0
150
GRAND BAHAMA
KM
Grand Bahama Hwy.
Grand Bahama Int’l Airport
Queen’s Hwy.
Freeport
0
2
KM
MURAT YÜKSELIR/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: TILEZEN;
OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS; HIU; REUTERS; ICEYE

Rainfall in millimetres, Aug. 30 - Sept. 3
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
Dots show
settlements
Area that experienced
winds 120 km/h or greater
PATH OF
DORIAN’S
EYE
GRAND
BAHAMA
Marsh
Harbour
Sept. 3
Sept. 2
ABACO
Sept. 1
Freeport
DORIAN
0
30
Detail
KM
BAHAMAS
SOURCE:
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rainfall in millimetres, Aug. 30 - Sept. 3
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
Area that experienced
winds 120 km/h or greater
Dots show
settlements
PATH OF
DORIAN’S
EYE
Marsh
Harbour
Sept. 3
Sept. 2
GRAND
BAHAMA
Sept. 1
Freeport
ABACO
DORIAN
0
30
Detail
KM
BAHAMAS
SOURCE:
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rainfall in millimetres, Aug. 30 - Sept. 3
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
Area that experienced
winds 120 km/h or greater
Dots show
settlements
PATH OF
DORIAN’S EYE
Sept. 3
Marsh
Harbour
GRAND
BAHAMA
Sept. 2
Freeport
Sept. 1
DORIAN
ABACO
Detail
0
30
BAHAMAS
KM
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Carolinas flooded
Florida was spared a direct hit from Dorian, but states farther to the north were not so lucky. In Charleston, S.C., floodwaters rose to 30 cm or more in parts of the historic city as the storm, now weakened to a Category 1, came close to the coast. More than 330,000 homes and businesses lost power in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Johnny Crawford navigates his kayak down a flooded street in Charleston, S.C., on Sept. 5.Meg Kinnard/The Associated Press
The Maritimes shaken
By Sept. 7, Dorian reached the Nova Scotia coast near Halifax, knocking out power for as many as 200,000 people there and thousands more in PEI, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. Canadian Forces personnel and hydro crews from other provinces mobilized to help clear roads of fallen trees and restore power.
A construction crane is seen toppled in downtown Halifax on Sept. 8.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
The staggering cost
Analysts have projected a colossal bill to clean up Dorian’s damage: Catastrophe modelling company Karen Clark & Company said the Bahamas’ total insured and uninsured losses could be US$7-billion, while UBS Group said the storm is likely to cause at least US$25-billion in losses for insurers overall. That would make it the insurance industry’s most expensive natural disaster since 2017.

U.S.
Dorian*
Atlantic
Ocean
7
1
6
10
MEX.
5
2
9
3
8
4
*As of Sept. 4, 8 a.m. (EDT)
COSTLIEST U.S. HURRICANES
1900-2017
TOTAL DAMAGES IN BILLIONS OF US$**
DEATHS
KATRINA 2005
1
$125
1,836
HARVEY 2017
2
125
107
MARIA 2017
3
90
~3,000
4
SANDY 2012
65
233
5
IRMA 2017
50
134
6
IKE 2008
30
214
7
ANDREW 1992
27
65
IVAN 2004
8
20.5
124
WILMA 2005
9
19
87
10
RITA 2005
18.5
125
**Not adjusted for inflation
graphic news, Sources: Reuters; NOAA

U.S.
Dorian*
Atlantic
Ocean
7
1
6
10
MEXICO
5
2
9
3
8
4
*As of Sept. 4, 8 a.m. (EDT)
COSTLIEST U.S. HURRICANES
1900-2017
TOTAL DAMAGES IN BILLIONS OF U.S. DOLLARS**
DEATHS
KATRINA 2005
1
$125
1,836
HARVEY 2017
2
125
107
MARIA 2017
3
90
~3,000
4
SANDY 2012
65
233
5
IRMA 2017
50
134
6
IKE 2008
30
214
7
ANDREW 1992
27
65
8
IVAN 2004
20.5
124
9
WILMA 2005
19
87
10
RITA 2005
18.5
125
**Not adjusted for inflation
graphic news, Sources: Reuters; NOAA

U.S.
Dorian*
Atlantic
Ocean
7
Gulf of
Mexico
1
6
10
10
MEXICO
5
2
9
3
8
4
Caribbean Sea
*As of Sept. 4, 8 a.m. (EDT)
COSTLIEST U.S. HURRICANES
1900-2017
TOTAL DAMAGES IN BILLIONS OF U.S. DOLLARS**
CATEGORY
DEATHS
KATRINA 2005, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi
1
$125
3
1,836
HARVEY 2017, Texas, Louisiana
2
125
4
107
MARIA 2017, Dominica, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico
3
90
5
~3,000
4
SANDY 2012, Mid-Atlantic, North East U.S.
65
1
233
5
IRMA 2017, Florida
50
4
134
6
IKE 2008, Texas, Louisiana
30
2
214
7
ANDREW 1992, Florida, Louisiana
27
5
65
8
IVAN 2004, Alabama, Florida
20.5
3
124
9
WILMA 2005, Florida
19
3
87
10
RITA 2005, Louisiana, Texas
18.5
3
125
**Not adjusted for inflation
graphic news, Sources: Reuters; NOAA
Compiled by Globe staff
Associated Press and Reuters, with reports from Globe staff and The Canadian Press
Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.