As Hurricane Fiona headed west into the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico was left early Monday with a collapsed energy grid, widespread flooding and continued heavy rain, with conditions remaining too dangerous for officials to judge the scope of the crisis.
But it’s clear the island will have a tough recovery, with up to 30 inches of rain in some places.
All of the nearly 1.5 million customers followed by poweroutage.us, watch out for power outages, no power on Sunday. Electric utility LUMA warned on Sunday that restoring full power in Puerto Rico could take days, with the storm creating “extremely difficult” conditions for repair workers.
“Current weather conditions are extremely dangerous and are hindering our ability to fully assess the situation.” it says on its website.
On Sunday morning, Fiona strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane. Although the center of the storm passed over the island on Monday morning, making landfall in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico continues to experience winds and rain like a tropical storm.
The National Weather Service said at 5 a.m. on Monday that an extra 1 to 6 inches of rain could fall across the island on Monday.
“These rains will continue to cause catastrophic and life-threatening flooding along with landslides and landslides across Puerto Rico,” the National Weather Service said.
Floodwaters rose rapidly on Sunday, with hundreds forced to evacuate or rescue across the island, according to The Associated Press. Several major landslides were reported and a bridge was washed away in the central town of Utuado.
Pedro Pierluisi, the governor of Puerto Rico, said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that officials were rescuing people in isolated areas and deploying the National Guard and other personnel to provide first aid. canopy low-lying areas where rivers are expected to flood.
Deanne Criswell, administrator of FEMA, said in a statement late Sunday that the agency deployed hundreds of employees to Puerto Rico before the hurricane made landfall and that its primary focus is saving lives and other needs. instantaneous demand such as restoring power.
For many Puerto Ricans, the storm brought back horrifying memories of Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 hurricane that produced up to 40 inches of rain in 2017, almost five years ago to be exact. That storm caused the death of estimated 2,975 people.
Hurricane Maria had far-reaching and lasting effects on Puerto Rico, with unreliable electricity remaining a mainstay of life on the island. Widespread anger followed by a slow recovery led to major power shifts, including former Governor Ricardo A. Rosselló step down next a popular uprising lasts 15 days.
