Puerto Rico: Before making landfall on Puerto Rico on Sunday, hurricane Fiona cut off electricity throughout the island. She then dumped torrential rain and caused "catastrophic" damage in a number of locations before veering off in the direction of the Dominican Republic.
At a press conference in the evening, Governor Pedro Pierluisi listed the damage already inflicted by Fiona, including landslides, blocked roads, downed trees and power lines, a collapsed bridge in the town of Utuado in the central mountainous region.
Additionally, as the hurricane approached, Pierluisi reported that the electrical system was out of service, and the entire territory, home to more than three million people, lost power.
Although the hurricane's eye is currently off the coast of the territory, the islands are expected to experience destructive rain and catastrophic flash floods tonight before the Dominican Republic is hit on Monday.
According to Pierluisi's tweet, Fiona will be remembered as a "catastrophic event due to the impacts of flooding" in the island's central mountainous region, east, and south. He also noted that 9–13 inches (23–33 cm) of rain had fallen in just five hours.
According to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), "Rainfall amounts will produce catastrophic life-threatening flash floods and urban flooding across Puerto Rico and portions of the eastern Dominican Republic, along with mudslides and landslides in areas of higher terrain."
In addition, 196,000 people lack access to drinking water as a result of the hurricane's power outages and flooded rivers, according to officials.
President Luis Abinader called off work in the public and private sectors on Monday in anticipation of Fiona's arrival in the Dominican Republic.
At the lowest end of the five-tier Saffier-Simpson scale, Category One hurricane with sustained winds of 140 km/h (85 mph) made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sunday afternoon.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts that Fiona will intensify and become a "major hurricane" before moving northward into the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Local media reported that a family in the town of Utuado witnessed the replacement of the zinc roof on their home, which had previously been torn off by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and replaced.
"This is a very sad and delicate situation. At the press conference on Sunday, Pierluisi said, "We are witnessing catastrophic damage in many areas.
A significant amount of rain has accumulated across the entire island. In numerous towns, there have been numerous reports of severe damage.
The storm has already claimed one life; while Fiona was still a tropical storm, a man was killed when flooding swept his home away in the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe.
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden proclaimed a state of emergency in Puerto Rico and gave the Federal Emergency Management Agency permission to provide aid.
The Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas are anticipated to experience tropical storm conditions by late Monday or early Tuesday, according to the NHC.
Reiterating "the request to our people, which the majority have heeded, to stay in their homes or seek refuge if they need it," officials, according to Pierluisi, told reporters.
The electrical grid on the island, which has had significant infrastructure issues for years, was severely damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
In an effort to stop the problem of blackouts, the grid was privatised in June 2021, but the problem has persisted, and the entire island lost power earlier this year.
Before achieving the status of an associated free state in 1950, the former Spanish colony was a US territory in the late 19th century.
After years of financial difficulties and a recession, the island filed for the biggest bankruptcy ever by a local US government in 2017. Hurricanes Irma and Maria later that year compounded the island's suffering and sparked a conflict between San Juan and Washington.
After Hurricane Maria hit, the then-president Donald Trump's administration came under fire for allegedly not giving Puerto Rico enough federal assistance.
During a visit to the island, video of him throwing paper towels to survivors drew criticism. Later, Trump claimed Democrats had inflated the storm's death toll to "make me look as bad as possible."
Alaska is in the path of a severe storm that could cause catastrophic flooding
