Puerto Rico goes dark as Hurricane Fiona rocks region
FOX Weather correspondent Will Nunley reports from Puerto Rico on the devastation Hurricane Fiona has caused to the area and how President Biden has responded on 'Special Report.'
Hurricane Fiona strengthened to a Category 3 storm on Tuesday as it approached the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The storm was located about 10 miles north of Grand Turk Island on Tuesday morning, with maximum sustained winds near 115 mph. It was moving at 10 mph to the north-northwest, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane-force winds stretched up to 30 miles from the center of the storm, with tropical-storm-force winds extending for 150 miles.
Heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding were still impacting the eastern Dominican Republic, and the agency said outer bands from the major hurricane would also produce heavy rains over parts of southern Puerto Rico through Wednesday as the storm heads north-northwest over the southwest Atlantic Ocean.
In addition, tropical storm conditions were expected to spread over the southeastern Bahamas during the next few hours.
Fiona unleashed heavy rain over the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Streets are flooded on Salinas Beach after the passing of Hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.
Two deaths were associated with the hurricane, including a 58-year-old Puerto Rican man who was swept away from a flooded river and a person in the Dominican Republic who was hit by a falling tree.
The National Guard has rescued more than 900 people amid floodwaters flowing through towns in eastern and southern Puerto Rico, where up to 30 inches of rain was forecast for some areas.
The storm knocked out the already fragile power grid and unleashed landslides – washing away a bridge installed by the National Guard after Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said it could be days before everyone on the island has electricity again.
HURRICANE FIONA MAKES LANDFALL IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AFTER HITTING PUERTO RICO
By Monday night, power had been restored for more than 114,000 customers.
One death in Puerto Rico was associated with the blackout — a 70-year-old man who was burned to death after he tried to fill his generator with gasoline while it was running, officials said.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said it could be days before everyone on the island has electricity again.
At least 1,300 people and about 250 pets remain in shelters across the island.
More than 837,000 customers had their water service cut because of turbid water at filtration plants or lack of power, according to officials.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic reported that the storm had displaced more than 12,400 people and cut off at least two communities.
Beaches and ports were closed, nearly 800 people were evacuated to safer locations and more than 700 people were in shelters.
The hurricane left several Dominican highways blocked, a tourist pier in the town of Miches was badly damaged by high waves and at least four international airports were closed.
Residents replace a home's roof that was torn off by Hurricane Fiona in the low-income neighborhood of Kosovo in Veron de Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.
Dominican President Luis Abinader said authorities would need several days to assess the storm’s effects.
President Biden has approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico, and the White House said Monday that the government deployed hundreds of personnel to assist with response and recovery there.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell will travel to Puerto Rico on Tuesday.
Fiona, the first major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, is predicted to strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane, according to FOX Weather.
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The season extends through Nov. 30.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.