On September 7, 2019, at 5 p.m. EDT, Nova Scotia started to experience hurricane-force winds. By 7 p.m. EDT, the eye of the storm passed over Halifax while tropical storm conditions were being felt in Prince Edward Island. As of September 8, approximately 412,000 customers in Nova Scotia lost power, accounting for approximately 80 percent of the province, as well as 80,000 customers in New Brunswick. Flooding was reported, roofs were torn off buildings, and a crane also collapsed onto a building being constructed. The collapse led to local evacuations for some residents and businesses. First responders evacuated 31 people from a campground in Prince Edward Island early Sunday morning as it was inundated by storm surge. Though Dorian was post-tropical on arrival, winds off the coast of Nova Scotia were estimated to reach 155 km/h (96 mph), equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane. Rainfall totals were highest in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, which received 161 mm (6.3 in) of rain. Various stations across Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island recorded rainfall amounts in excess of 130 mm (5.1 in). Several stations recorded winds higher than 130 km/h (81 mph), with the highest gusts recorded in Grand Étang, Nova Scotia, at 155 km/h (96 mph). In the Cavendish area of Prince Edward Island National Park, 80 percent of trees suffered damage from the high winds, and storm surge caused 2 metres (6.6 ft) of coastal erosion. Winds of 120 km/h (75 mph) also affected the Magdalen Islands of Quebec in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. 7,000 customers were without power there at one point, representing nearly all customers on the islands. On the night of September 7, a buoy off the coast of Newfoundland detected a 100 ft (30 m) rogue wave, which had been generated by Dorian's winds. Insurance damage across the region was estimated at C$105 million (US$78.9 million), with power grid damage in Nova Scotia alone accounting for $39 million (Canadian) by Nova Scotia Power, making it the costliest storm in Nova Scotia Power's history.
On August 19, 2019, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) identified a tropical wave—an elongated trough of low air pressure—within a monsoon trough over Guinea and Senegal in western Africa. Convective activity associated with the wave was limited by an abundance of Saharan dust in the region. Propagating west over the tropical Atlantic Ocean, the system remained disorganized for several days. On August 23, a defined area of low pressure consolidated at the surface and thunderstorm activity increased. The system acquired sufficient organized convection to be classified as Tropical Depression Five at 15:00 UTC on August 24. At this time the system was situated 805 mi (1,300 km) east-southeast of Barbados. A deep ridge imparted continued westward movement of the depression, steering it toward the Lesser Antilles. A small cyclone, it soon developed a defined inner-core with a 12 mi (18 km) wide eye-like feature. This marked the system's intensification into a tropical storm, at which time it was assigned the name Dorian by the NHC. Thereafter, moderate wind shear and surrounding dry air limited further organization. Rainbands gradually wrapped more around Dorian on August 25–26, though convection remained inconsistent.
More InfoPuerto Rico Wanda Vázquez Garced declared a state of emergency for the territory on August 27. The following day, the Puerto Rico National Guard was activated to support any relief operations related to the storm. Fears centered around the still-unstable power grid which was largely destroyed by Maria; hundreds of utility workers were deployed to quickly fix any outages.. In some areas, power lines remained affixed to palm trees. An estimated 30,000 homes still had damaged roofs from the 2017 hurricane. Territory-wide, 360 shelters with a collective capacity of 48,500 persons opened; 24,000 cots were distributed to these shelters. A state of emergency was declared for the United States Virgin Islands on August 28. Curfews were enacted for the British and United States Virgin Islands for the duration of the hurricane.
More InfoNew Zealand's Inland Revenue Department said that they were working to obtain details of people who have tax residence in the country who may have been involved in arrangements facilitated by Mossack Fonseca.Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, told Radio New Zealand on April 8, 2016 that New Zealand is a well-known tax haven and a "nice front for criminals". New Zealand provides overseas investors with foreign trusts and look-through companies. New Zealand government policy is to not request disclosure of the identity of either the settlor or the beneficiaries of the trust, and thus the ownership remains secret, and as a consequence, thus hiding the assets from the trust-holder's home jurisdictions. These trusts are not taxed in New Zealand. These trusts can then be used to acquire and own New Zealand registered companies, which become a vehicle by which the trust owners can exercise day to day control over their assets. These New Zealand-registered companies can be designed not to make a profit using loans from tax havens and other profit shifting techniques: the result being tax free income with the general respectability that has typically been associated with companies registered in New Zealand.
More InfoAs Dorian approached Atlantic Canada, hurricane and tropical storm warnings were issued for Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. On September 6, the Halifax Regional Municipality encouraged residents living along the eastern shores of Nova Scotia to evacuate, citing expected high winds, heavy rainfall, and waves up to 15 m (49 ft) in height. The Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office implored residents to secure easily dislodged objects to prevent high winds from turning them into projectiles, drawing comparisons to Hurricane Juan in 2003. Nova Scotia Power set up an emergency operations center and mobilized 1,000 personnel, including forestry crews, damage assessors, as well as power line technicians from adjacent provinces, to prepare for Dorian's impacts. WestJet, Air Canada, and Porter Airlines issued travel advisories for the weekend and waived rebooking fees for flights to and from affected areas.
More InfoThe Municipality of Regulation and Supervision of Financial Subjects [not the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF)] initiated a special review of the law firm Mossack Fonseca to determine whether it had followed tax law. Carlamara Sanchez, in charge of this proceeding, said at a press conference that the quartermaster had come to verify whether the firm had complied since April 8 with due diligence, customer knowledge, the final beneficiary and reporting of suspicious transactions to Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) operations. She said that Law 23 of 2015 empowers regulation and supervision and said some firms had been monitored since late last year with special attention after the Panama Papers, and noted that the law carries fines $5,000 to $1 million or even suspension of the firm.
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