Hurricane Fiona batters parts of Caribbean
Saturday, September 24, 2022
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.
Sister links
Sources
- Jason Hanna, Elizabeth Wolfe and Melissa Alonso. "Ruinous Hurricane Fiona reaches Category 4 as it moves north, leaving disaster-stricken areas to begin slow road to recovery" — CNN, September 22, 2022
- Elsa Maishman and James FitzGerald. "Hurricane Fiona: Dominican Republic hit as storm strengthens" — BBC News, September 21, 2022
