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Hurricane Fiona Leaves One Dead In Dominican Republic After
A flooded street in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 19, 2022

Hurricane Fiona discarded downpour on the Dominican Republic and left someone there dead on Monday after activating major flooding in Puerto Rico and widespread power blackouts across both Caribbean islands.

The storm strengthened to a Category Two hurricane late Monday, said the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), which anticipate continuing rains and possible brand-new devastating floods during the night in both Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic.

Red signals were in result in seven of the island's 32 provinces-- below 18 earlier in the day-- with more than 12,000 people safeguarding in safe areas, according to emergency services.

One guy passed away in the storm while lowering a tree in his home as a preventive procedure, authorities said, without giving more details.

Several roads were flooded or cut off by falling trees or electrical poles around the Dominican resort of Punta Cana where the electrical energy was knocked out, an AFP reporter on the scene stated.

President Luis Abinader declared three eastern provinces to be disaster zones: La Altagracia-- house to Punta Cana-- El Seibo and Hato Mayor.

Civil defense personnel and firefighters get rid of fallen trees from a highway in the Dominican Republic

water removal services
Footage from local media showed citizens of the east coast town of Higuey waist-deep in water, attempting to salvage personal valuables.

"It came through at high speed," Vicente Lopez, in the Punta Cana beach of Bibijagua told AFP, regreting the damaged companies in the location.

Fiona was packing maximum continual winds of 100 miles per hour (155 kilometers per hour), according to the NHC, which anticipated it to strengthen Tuesday to a Category Three storm-- making it this season's very first significant Atlantic hurricane.

After passing close to Turks and Caicos late Monday or early Tuesday, the storm is expected to track north later on in the week, out into the ocean-- although it could come perilously near to tiny Bermuda.

In Puerto Rico-- where the rain was still beating down-- US President Joe Biden has actually stated a state of emergency, licensing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offer assistance.

-- 'They were sobbing'--

In this handout picture supplied by the Puerto Rico fire department, firefighters work to get rid of a fallen tree from a roadway in Vega Baja, Puerto, Rico

Governor Pedro Pierluisi stated the storm had actually caused catastrophic damage since Sunday, with some areas facing more than 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rainfall.

On Monday afternoon, Nelly Marrero made her way back to her house in Toa Baja, in the north of the US island area, to clear out the mud that surged within after she left a day earlier.

"Thanks to God, I have food and water," Marrero-- who lost everything when Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico five years ago-- informed AFP by telephone.

Hearing the flood alert ring out, Marrero headed out into the rain with her child and 3 baby grandchildren, seeking refuge at a relative's house.

"It was very tough with the children-- they were sobbing, they didn't comprehend what was going on," she stated.

Across Puerto Rico, Fiona triggered landslides, obstructed roadways and fell trees, power lines and bridges, Pierluisi said.

A male was killed as an indirect result of the power blackout-- burned to death while trying to fill his generator, according to authorities.

The guv said Fiona had caused "unmatched" flooding and that more rain was anticipated "throughout the island today and tomorrow".

The storm has triggered one casualty-- a man who was eliminated after his home was swept away by flooding in the French abroad department of Guadeloupe


Most of Puerto Rico, an island of 3 million individuals, was without power, however electricity had actually been brought back for about 100,000 customers on Monday, the governor stated.

The hurricane has actually also left around 800,000 individuals without drinking water as a result of power failures and flooded rivers, officials stated.

"We are without electrical energy and water," Elena Santiago, an anaesthesiologist at the Mennonite health center in Aibonito informed AFP.

"The medical facility is operating with a generator. Only emergencies are being took care of.

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- Blackout problems -

Fiona seen from area off the coast of Puerto Rico

Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category One cyclone, at the lowest end of the five-tier Saffir-Simpson scale.

Before that, the storm had caused one casualty in the French abroad department of Guadeloupe, when Fiona was still classified as a hurricane.

After years of financial problems and recession, Puerto Rico in 2017 declared the largest personal bankruptcy ever by a regional US administration.

Hurricane Fiona

Later that year, the double hit from 2 Hurricanes, Irma and Maria, contributed to the misery, devastating the electrical grid on the island-- which has actually experienced significant infrastructure issues for years.

The grid was privatized in June 2021 in an effort to solve the issue of blackouts, but the issue has persisted, and the entire island lost power earlier this year.



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