Hurricane Fiona batters parts of Caribbean

Saturday, September 24, 2022

Satellite image of the hurricane on September 22
Image: United States Naval Research Laboratory.

This week parts of the Caribbean were affected by Hurricane Fiona, a Category 4 hurricane. Large-scale damage to critical water and power infrastructure has been sustained with winds raging as high as 130 miles (209 km) per hour, and later reports of heavy rainfall and flash flooding. The main affected area was Puerto Rico, where at least four people have died and 80% of the island remained without power. An estimated 1.3 million homes and businesses in were left without electricity.

One death was reported in Guadeloupe and two deaths were reported in the Dominican Republic, where President Luis Abinader declared three eastern provinces as disaster zones. It was claimed by a resident that La Altagracia Province had been hit much harder than it was by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Fiona then hit the Turks and Caicos Islands, where deputy governor Anya Williams reported widespread power outages, before the hurricane continued north towards Bermuda.

On Tuesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent a team to Puerto Rico to assess the damage, as supported by Governor Pedro Pierluisi.


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