Cuba, Florida brace for storm Ian

Montreal: Parts of eastern Canada suffered "immense" devastation, officials said Sunday after powerful storm Fiona swept houses into the sea and caused major power outages, as the Caribbean and Florida braced for intensifying Tropical Storm Ian.

Fiona, a post-tropical cyclone that had earlier killed seven people in the Caribbean, tore into Nova Scotia and Newfoundland on Saturday. The storm packed hurricane-force winds of 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour and brought torrential rain, as well as waves of up to 40 feet (12 meters).

"The devastation is immense in the province," Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said in a press conference. "So many trees down, power outages... The magnitude of the storm is incredible," he said.

Storm surges swept at least 20 homes into the sea in the town of Channel-Port aux Basques, on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland, officials there said, with Mayor Brian Button describing "a total war zone" in the coastal community.

Some 200 residents had been evacuated before the storm hit, though officials said police and the coast guard were searching for one missing 73-year-old woman amid fears she had been swept out to sea by the storm.