The Niagara region of Canada has announced a state of emergency in anticipation of a rare total solar eclipse that is expected to draw enormous crowds to areas surrounding the region’s popular waterfalls, according to Reuters.
Scheduled for April 8, this total solar eclipse will be the first to happen in the province since 1979, as National Geographic declared that Niagara Falls will be one of the best places to see it.
“Declaring a state of emergency … strengthens the tools the region has at its disposal to safeguard the health and safety of residents and visitors and protect our critical infrastructure in any scenario that might arise,” a Niagara region press release said.
Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said earlier in March that he expects the highest number of visitors his city has ever seen in a single day. Diodati projected attendance of up to one million visitors, a significant increase from the usual 14 million annual visitors.
The eclipse will reach Mexico’s Pacific coast in the morning, traverse the United States diagonally from Texas to Maine, and exit in eastern Canada by late afternoon. Most of the rest of the continent will see a partial eclipse.