A Hurricane Slammed Puerto Rico And Dominican Republic, Leaving Millions Without Power And Water
Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands have experienced major damage from heavy rainfall from Hurricane Fiona.
Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands have experienced major damage from heavy rainfall from Hurricane Fiona.
The hurricane struck Puerto Rico on Sunday Sep. 18, pummeling it with rain that caused flash floods and some areas to receive at least 76 centimenters (30 inches) of rain, damaging water and electric facilities.
90% of people did not have power across Puerto Rico on Monday, and authorities said they fear it may take days to bring all the power back to the island of 3.3 million people, according to Reuters.
Five years ago, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, killing about 3,000 people and destroying the country’s power grid.
“They promised it would be better. It hasn’t,” a Puerto Rican resident said about the power outages as a result of Hurricane Fiona.
Puerto Rico’s governor said it had mobilized operations, with the National Guard rescuing over 900 people.
On Monday, the hurricane landed in the Dominican Republic, while rain continued to batter Puerto Rico and warnings of flooding remained.
The Dominican Republic closed all ports and issued a warning to citizens to remain home.
Still, about 12,500 people were displaced from their homes and thousands remained without power, according to officials.
Dominican Republic officials said that 1.1 million people do not have access to safe and clean water as a result of the hurricane, according to Reuters.
A state of emergency was issued on the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic as flash floods destroyed farms, buildings and highways.
On Tuesday, Hurricane Fiona became a category 3 storm with winds of 185 kilometers per hour and became a category 4 on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
On Tuesday morning, it arrived at the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Although it caused floods and power outages on several islands of the nation, no casualties were reported.
“Shutting the country down early is what helped us save lives,” the Turks and Caicos Islands’ Deputy Governor, Anya Williams, told Reuters.
The Bahamas and Bermuda have been warned to keep an eye on the Hurricane’s trajectory and take precautionary measures.
Scientists warn rising temperatures are creating stronger hurricanes and heavier rainfall in the Atlantic Ocean.
