Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico on Sunday, causing widespread damage.
Hurricane Maria in 2017 converted roads into raging floods and washed away newly built bridges. The island’s 3.2 million residents are once again without power.
Wind tore apart rooftops and severe rain created landslides.
Police claim the National Guard constructed a bridge in Utuado after Hurricane Maria in 2017.
According to the US National Hurricane Center, Fiona reached Mayaguez with 85 mph winds. 9 mph north-west. Sunday, President Biden approved a state of emergency.
White House: The emergency declaration empowers FEMA to organize disaster aid and implement emergency protective measures.
Hurricane Fiona hit the Caribbean as torrential rains fell.
National Hurricane Center radar showed the storm made landfall near Punta Tocon at 3:20pm.
After Hurricane Maria, Utuado, Puerto Rico, got a new metal bridge.
The flood was so strong that the entire structure swept away.
Sunday afternoon, floods lifted the enormous metal bridge from its foundations.
Residents were shocked when the bridge disappeared.
A man climbs into an ATV as Hurricane Fiona makes landfall in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Highways become rivers. No indication of a metal bridge formerly here
In Cayey, Puerto Rico, three individuals wait for rescue from Hurricane Fiona floods.
A man walks on a flooded road in Cayey, Puerto Rico, Sunday.
Tropical storm-force winds reached 140 miles from Fiona’s center.
The governor tweeted about 2pm EDT that the power was gone. The situation’s protocols have been initiated.
Pierluisi declared Sunday that schools and government offices will be closed Monday.
He called the devastation “catastrophic.”
Luma, a power transmission and distribution business, said 80 mph winds had destroyed transmission lines, causing a ‘blackout on the island’
‘Current weather conditions are extremely dangerous and hamper our ability to examine the overall situation,’ it added, adding that restoring electricity might take several days.
Some hospitals’ generators failed. Health Secretary Carlos Mellado said generators at the Comprehensive Cancer Centre are being repaired.
By Sunday evening, some sections had received 15 inches of rain, and the island was under a flash flood warning.
Nelson Cirino’s bedroom after storm Fiona tore off his roof in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sept. 18, 2022. (Alejandro Granadillo/AP)
Sunday in Loiza, Puerto Rico, a woman and her dog seek cover from Hurricane Fiona.
Nelson Cirino’s home in Loiza, Puerto Rico, was destroyed by Hurricane Fiona.
As the hurricane approached the island, evacuees sheltered in a public school classroom.
Strong winds threaten to rip apart Puerto Rico as firefighters remove a fallen tree in Vega Baja.
Sunday’s satellite image of Hurricane Fiona in the Caribbean.
Newly created Hurricane Fiona is reaching Puerto Rico’s coast, sparking an island-wide outage and threatening ‘record’ rain.
Sunday afternoon, the hurricane engulfs Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico might get 25 inches of rain.
Forecasters predicted severe flooding and ‘record’ rainfall.
Ponce, 34 miles east of where Fiona made ashore, had damaged houses and flooded cars.
The NHC predicts life-threatening flash flooding and urban flooding in Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic, accompanied with mudslides and landslides on higher terrain.
The storm tore up asphalt and scattered it.
William Miranda Torres, mayor of Caguas, where at least one significant landslide was reported, urged residents to stay in their homes.
Hurricane Maria caused the largest blackout in U.S. history in Puerto Rico in September 2017.
Category 5 hurricane ripped out 80% of power lines, leaving 1.5 million without power.
Authorities opened 80 shelters, closed beaches and casinos, and urged locals to take refuge.
The hurricane was expected to target Puerto Rico’s southern shore, which is still recuperating after a run of severe earthquakes in late 2019. Several schools are still closed and debris needs to be cleaned.
Loiza, Puerto Rico residents prepare for Hurricane Fiona by covering a window with plywood.
Jetsabel Osorio stands in her hurricane-damaged home before Hurricane Fiona.
Trees and small landslides obstructed roads across the island.
More than 780 humans and 80 pets had sought shelter by Saturday night, mostly in the south.
All Puerto Ricans who lived through Maria have post-traumatic stress, wondering what will happen, how long it will endure, and what needs we may confront. Danny Hernández, who works in San Juan, decided to weather the storm in Mayaguez.
He and others stocked up at the supermarket before the storm.
He stated, “After Maria, we all felt scarcity.”
In El Combate, co-owner Tomás Rivera said he was prepared but worried about ‘enormous’ rain. A adjacent nature reserve seemed eerie.
‘Thousands of birds are missing,’ he claimed. Even the birds are preparing for what’s ahead.
Given the delayed government response following Hurricane Maria, Rivera’s staff brought bedridden relatives to the hotel, where he stocked up on diesel, gasoline, food, water, and ice.
‘We’ve planned to depend as little as possible on the government,’ he said.
Ana Córdova, 70, arrived at a shelter in Loiza after buying food and water on Saturday.
She didn’t trust the government. After Maria, I lost trust.
Nelson Cirino locks his windows in Loiza, Puerto Rico, during Hurricane Fiona.
Saturday in Loiza, Puerto Rico, residents prepare for Hurricane Fiona.
A man stands before Hurricane Fiona in San Juan.
People boarded up windows and stocked up on food and water as Hurricane Fiona approached.
All Puerto Ricans who lived through Maria have post-traumatic stress, wondering what will happen, how long it will endure, and what needs we may confront. Danny Hernández, who works in San Juan, decided to weather the storm in Mayaguez.
NHC: ‘Hurricane conditions are possible across the U.S. Virgin Islands (Saturday night) and Sunday’
The Dominican Republic, northern Haiti, and the Turks and Caicos Islands might see heavy rain Monday. Tuesday, it may threaten the southern Bahamas.
A hurricane warning is in effect from Cabo Caucedo to Cabo Frances Viejo.
Fiona earlier pummeled the eastern Caribbean, killing one man in Guadeloupe when floods washed away his home.
The storm damaged roads and bridges and uprooted trees.
Guadeloupe’s roads flooded and vegetation appeared damaged.
A September 17 photo shows hurricane damage at Guadeloupe’s Capesterre-Belle-Eau.
A cyclist rides across a flooded street in Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Guadeloupe, after the Fiona hurricane.