Hurricane Fiona hits Puerto Rico with blackouts, flooding and landslides
Rivers rise 6m in hours as the storm rips up tar from roads, sweeps away a bridge, closes airports and swamps cars
19 September 2022 - 08:23
byIvelisse Rivera and Ezequiel Abiu Lopez
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A car sits in flood waters after Hurricane Fiona affected the area in Yauco, Puerto Rico, on September 18 2022. Picture: REUTERS/RICARDO ARDUENGO
San Juan, Puerto Rico/Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic — Hurricane Fiona left most of Puerto Rico without power on Sunday, causing catastrophic flooding and landslides on the island before barrelling towards the Dominican Republic, a government agency said.
The storm, hitting Puerto Rico five years after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, ripped up asphalt from roads, swept away a major road bridge, closed airports, swamped cars and dumped rain in such quantities that some rivers were rising 6m in just hours, according to witnesses.
“This has been catastrophic,” Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said at a news conference in the capital, San Juan.
Carmen Yulín Cruz, the former mayor of San Juan, said on Twitter that many believed the rainfall was worse than Hurricane Maria in 2017.
The centre of the storm made landfall on the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico near Punta Tocon at 3.20pm. ET (9.20pm SA time) with maximum sustained winds of about 140km/h, clearing the threshold for a Category 1 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Power had begun to be restored to some areas by Sunday night, officials said, but reconnecting the whole island will take days.
Electricity has been out completely across the island of 3.3-million people, said Luma Energy, operator of the island's grid, and the Puerto Rico power authority.
Puerto Rico's grid remains fragile after Hurricane Maria in September 2017 caused the largest blackout in US history. In that Category 5 storm, which killed more than 3,000 people, 1.5-million customers lost electricity with 80% of power lines knocked out. Thousands of Puerto Ricans still live under makeshift tarpaulin roofs.
At a news conference in the capital San Juan on Sunday night, Luma spokesperson Abner Gomez said the electrical system have been shut down to protect its infrastructure. Some power is being restored, with priority given to hospitals and other critical community services, he said.
Several landslides have been reported, officials said. Roads are closed and a highway bridge in Utuado, a town in the centre of the island, has been washed away by a flooding river. Puerto Rico's ports are closed and flights out of the main airport cancelled.
Torrential rains and mudslides are also forecast for the Dominican Republic as the storm progresses northwestward, with the Turks and Caicos Islands likely to face tropical storm conditions on Tuesday, the NHC said.
By Sunday night, aid agencies in the Dominican Republic began evacuating residents from high-risk areas in the east of the country. President Luis Abinader, the Dominican leader, postponed a trip to New York to participate in the UN General Assembly, while the start of the Dominican school year was pushed back to Wednesday from Monday.
US President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico on Sunday, authorising the Federal Emergency Management Agency to co-ordinate disaster relief and provide emergency protective measures.
US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm said agency officials deployed to Puerto Rico will assist with restoration efforts “as it becomes safe to do so”.
Denise Rios, who lives in the southwestern town of Hormigueros, said she was left without power after strong gusts of wind and rain that began about noon on Sunday.
“Since then it hasn't stopped,” she said. “It is raining heavily and the wind is blowing hard. I'm calm, but alert.”
A wide swathe of Puerto Rico was forecast to get 30cm-40cm of rain, while parts could be hit by up to 63.5cm, according to the NHC.
Authorities opened more than 100 shelters and closed beaches and casinos.
One death tied to Fiona has been reported so far, in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Authorities said a man was found dead on Saturday after his house was swept away by floods.
France will recognise a state of natural disaster for Guadeloupe, President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter on Sunday.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Hurricane Fiona hits Puerto Rico with blackouts, flooding and landslides
Rivers rise 6m in hours as the storm rips up tar from roads, sweeps away a bridge, closes airports and swamps cars
San Juan, Puerto Rico/Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic — Hurricane Fiona left most of Puerto Rico without power on Sunday, causing catastrophic flooding and landslides on the island before barrelling towards the Dominican Republic, a government agency said.
The storm, hitting Puerto Rico five years after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, ripped up asphalt from roads, swept away a major road bridge, closed airports, swamped cars and dumped rain in such quantities that some rivers were rising 6m in just hours, according to witnesses.
“This has been catastrophic,” Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said at a news conference in the capital, San Juan.
Carmen Yulín Cruz, the former mayor of San Juan, said on Twitter that many believed the rainfall was worse than Hurricane Maria in 2017.
The centre of the storm made landfall on the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico near Punta Tocon at 3.20pm. ET (9.20pm SA time) with maximum sustained winds of about 140km/h, clearing the threshold for a Category 1 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Power had begun to be restored to some areas by Sunday night, officials said, but reconnecting the whole island will take days.
Electricity has been out completely across the island of 3.3-million people, said Luma Energy, operator of the island's grid, and the Puerto Rico power authority.
Puerto Rico's grid remains fragile after Hurricane Maria in September 2017 caused the largest blackout in US history. In that Category 5 storm, which killed more than 3,000 people, 1.5-million customers lost electricity with 80% of power lines knocked out. Thousands of Puerto Ricans still live under makeshift tarpaulin roofs.
At a news conference in the capital San Juan on Sunday night, Luma spokesperson Abner Gomez said the electrical system have been shut down to protect its infrastructure. Some power is being restored, with priority given to hospitals and other critical community services, he said.
Several landslides have been reported, officials said. Roads are closed and a highway bridge in Utuado, a town in the centre of the island, has been washed away by a flooding river. Puerto Rico's ports are closed and flights out of the main airport cancelled.
Torrential rains and mudslides are also forecast for the Dominican Republic as the storm progresses northwestward, with the Turks and Caicos Islands likely to face tropical storm conditions on Tuesday, the NHC said.
By Sunday night, aid agencies in the Dominican Republic began evacuating residents from high-risk areas in the east of the country. President Luis Abinader, the Dominican leader, postponed a trip to New York to participate in the UN General Assembly, while the start of the Dominican school year was pushed back to Wednesday from Monday.
US President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico on Sunday, authorising the Federal Emergency Management Agency to co-ordinate disaster relief and provide emergency protective measures.
US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm said agency officials deployed to Puerto Rico will assist with restoration efforts “as it becomes safe to do so”.
Denise Rios, who lives in the southwestern town of Hormigueros, said she was left without power after strong gusts of wind and rain that began about noon on Sunday.
“Since then it hasn't stopped,” she said. “It is raining heavily and the wind is blowing hard. I'm calm, but alert.”
A wide swathe of Puerto Rico was forecast to get 30cm-40cm of rain, while parts could be hit by up to 63.5cm, according to the NHC.
Authorities opened more than 100 shelters and closed beaches and casinos.
One death tied to Fiona has been reported so far, in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Authorities said a man was found dead on Saturday after his house was swept away by floods.
France will recognise a state of natural disaster for Guadeloupe, President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter on Sunday.
Reuters
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