Hurricane Fiona smashed through Puerto Rico early Monday with pounding rain and winds that triggered mudslides, flooding and a power outage that swept across the entire island.
“The damages that we are seeing are catastrophic,” Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said.
The entire power grid went down on Sunday, putting all 1.5 million power customers in the dark. Only about 100,000 of those customers had regained power early Monday. Power distribution company Luma warned it could take days to fully restore service.
Even as the storm made landfall Monday in the Dominican Republic, it continued to slam Puerto Rico with unrelenting rains.
“Heavy rainfall and catastrophic flooding continues across much of Puerto Rico,” said Richard Pasch, a specialist with the National Hurricane Center.
Up to 30 inches of rain still possible
Hundred of water rescues were underway and widespread evacuations were ordered in the U.S. territory of 3.2 million people. Parts of the island, still healing from the battering wrought by Hurricane Maria five years ago, could see up to 30 inches of rain before the storm rolls out of the area late Monday, AccuWeather reported.
“These rains will continue to produce life-threatening and catastrophic flooding along with mudslides and landslides across Puerto Rico,” said Brad Reinhart, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Life-threatening flash and urban flooding is likely for eastern portions of the Dominican Republic.”
HURRICANE FIONA MAKES LANDFALL:Puerto Rico hammered, hit with island-wide power blackout
Winds ripped the top off of houses and businesses. Water rushed through streets and into homes. Roads were torn apart and in the the central town of Utuado a bridge installed by the National Guard after Maria washed away. And hours of rain were still to come.
Ernesto Morales, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Juan, said flooding reached “historic” levels.
“It’s important people understand that this is not over,” Morales said.
Ada Vivian Román, 21, said the storm knocked down trees and fences in her hometown of Toa Alta. She worried about how long the public transportation she relies on to get to her job at a public relations agency will be unable to operate.
“But I know that I’m privileged compared with other families who are practically losing their homes because they are under water,” she said.
Puerto Rico in ‘constant state of emergency’
Mercy Corps says it has been helping people on the island better prepare for disasters by transforming local community centers into “resilience hubs” with different combinations of solar energy, potable water storage, communication systems, emergency kits, and disaster preparedness training. Tens of thousands of families are still living under blue tarps covering their roofs, the group says.
“Puerto Ricans have faced a constant state of emergency over the five last years,” said Allison Dworschak, leader of the agency’s Caribbean Resilience Initiative. “Those who don’t have the financial means to repair the damage properly are especially vulnerable to the impacts of storms like Fiona.”
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Where is Fiona now?
Fiona was centered 35 miles southeast o Samana, Dominican Republic, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph early Monday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was moving to the northwest at 8 mph.
Fiona became the third hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic season on Sunday, hours before the first landfall on the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico near Punta Tocon. Fiona was a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.
Fiona made landfall in the Dominican Republic early Monday about 20 miles south of Punta Cana with sustained winds of 90 miles per hour.
Contributing: The Associated Press