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Hurricane Fiona is causing devastation in several regions across Puerto Rico. So far, the hurricane has caused serious floods, and landslides, followed by a complete electricity shutdown in Puerto Rico. The excessive flooding has caused the death of two people as of now. As stated by the officials, one of them died in a river flood and one died in a generator fire. President Joe Biden has announced a state of urgency in Puerto Rico that is supposed to let the officials and local authorities provide the required relief services more efficiently.
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated U.S. territory which is an island that is blessed with several natural sceneries such as mountains, waterfalls, and beautiful bitches. Because of this, Puerto Rico is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the North American region. Earlier, the weather forecasters had warned Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic that Hurricane Fiona will be hitting their coast which may cause heavy rains and floods. As reported by the US National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Fiona was moving at around 8 mph or 13 kmph towards the northwest with a wind speed of 85 mph or 140 kmph on September 19. At the time of issuing the warning, Hurricane Fiona was just a tropical storm. The team of weather experts had suggested that by the time the tropical storm Fiona hits the Caribbean coasts, it will likely be turning into a Hurricane.
Responding to the devastation caused by Hurricane Fiona, Governor Pedro Pierluisi said that Hurricane Fiona has caused devastation in Puerto Rico, which is catastrophic. He also added that the hurricane is expected to continue its devastation till the next day. Governor Pedro Pierluisi also suggested to the residents of Puerto Rico to remain in homes or safe shelters to prevent any casualties in situations such as floods and landslides. As stated by the Governor, in many areas of the territory, where there were no previous records of flooding, there was an accumulation of water. The level of accumulated water was even higher than the level reported during Hurricane Maria.
As per the reports, some areas in Puerto Rico witnessed rain of 22 inches or 56 centimeters. Experts have stated the possibility that even if the hurricane leaves the island, Puerto Rico is expected to witness rain of around 5 to 15 inches. In 2017, the island suffered similar devastation due to Hurricane Maria, which back then had destroyed the power grid in the territory. The region was still in the recovery process after so many years. This was the reason why the whole Puerto Rican island suffered from a complete power outage as Hurricane Fiona hit its shore. The Governor has stated that the energy company responsible for the island's power supply is working on getting it back as soon as possible.
There have been reports of two deaths as a result of Fiona. But the experts have stated that it is too early to predict the number of deaths caused by the hurricane. This is because Hurricane Maria which came in 2017, caused over 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico. Hurricane Fiona seems to have a higher impact on the infrastructure and has caused higher levels of damage. The hurricane is expected to last one more day, which can bring more devastation to the region.
Yash Ranjan09/20/2022
