Hurricane Igor has pelted Canada's Atlantic coast province of Newfoundland with heavy rain, flooding communities, washing out roads and stranding some residents in their homes.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) said Igor had transformed into a "post-tropical" storm, which has a different structure from a hurricane but still packs the same punch. The storm battered Newfoundland, on Canada's eastern coast.
In the Pacific, a mild tropical storm formed and then weakened into a tropical depression over the Mexican resort area of Baja California.
The CHC said the change in Igor's classification does not reflect a downgrade in the storm's intensity because winds have strengthened as the storm draws energy from another weather system to the west.
"Normally the cool North Atlantic chills out these hurricanes, but this one came up with a vengeance and met another low pressure system and the combined wallop of the wind and the water has been quite devastating," Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams said.
Williams said Igor caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, adding that it's the hardest the area had been hit in recent memory. He said 14 communities have declared a state of emergency and said 27 communities are isolated as a result of washouts and road damage. He said the damage is significant.
"There are a lot of homes that are nearly completely submerged. Barns and structures have been washed away, completely out to sea," Williams said.
He said he would visit some of the affected communities soon. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke with Williams. Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for Harper, said the federal government stands ready to assist.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Boyd Merrill said they were investigating a report of a missing 80-year old man who was reportedly washed into the sea on Tuesday morning on Random Island when a driveway collapsed from underneath him due to heavy water flow. Merrill said police and the coast guard have not been able to access the island.
"This is not your normal heavy rainfall flooding. It's having a major impact," said Chris Fogarty, of the Hurricane Centre. He said more than 200 millimeters (8 inches) of rain have fallen in some regions.
Marystown Mayor Sam Synard said the storm was overwhelming his community's capacity to cope.
"We've never seen such a violent storm before," he said. "We've lost sections of our main roads, completely washed out to sea."
Keith Rodway, a member of the Clarenville town council, said parts of his town had to be evacuated.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Wayne Edgecombe said heavy rains that flooded a key bridge in southern Newfoundland have left the Burin Peninsula's 20,000 residents cut off from the rest of the province. Edgecombe said roads all over the peninsula have been washed out or submerged, but so far there have been no major crises.
Bob Pike of Newfoundland Power said tens of thousands of customers are without power.
Igor doggedly maintained maximum sustained winds 138kmh.
