Current:Home > ContactBattered by Hurricane Fiona, this is what a blackout looks like across Puerto Rico -Ascend Wealth Education
Battered by Hurricane Fiona, this is what a blackout looks like across Puerto Rico
View
Date:2025-04-27 21:35:24
Hurricane Fiona made landfall in the Dominican Republic on Monday morning, as millions in Puerto Rico face flash flooding, mudslides and an island-wide blackout.
The National Hurricane Center warned that the Category 1 hurricane is moving into the Atlantic and is likely to strengthen. Fiona, which is traveling with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, is forecast to travel near or east of the Turks and Caicos Islands as early as Monday night.
In Puerto Rico, the full extent of the damage is still unclear as the storm has unleashed torrential rains across much of the island, causing massive flooding and landslides. Island officials have said that some roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged or washed away as a result of the downpour.
Most of the island also remains without power, according to utility companies' reports tracked by PowerOutage.us. More than 775,000 residents also have no access to clean water.
The latest hurricane to batter the U.S. territory, Fiona struck two days before the fifth anniversary of Maria, the devastating storm that killed more than 3,000 people and nearly destroyed the island's electricity system.
On Monday, Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi called the damages to the island's housing and fragile infrastructure from the Category 1 storm "catastrophic."
"In many areas, flooding is worse than what we saw during Hurricane Maria," Pierluisi said during a press briefing.
"So far we've gotten about 30 inches of rain, even in areas where they had never experienced flooding," he added.
Heavy rainfall and life-threatening flooding risks are expected to last through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. The saturation "will also continue to trigger mudslides and rockfall in areas of steep terrain."
Fiona's powerful winds and the subsequent deluge of rainfall knocked out the island's power grid, throwing the island into a blackout. Officials have said it will take several days to fully restore service to over a million residents.
Shortly after the hurricane struck on Sunday, Pierluisi said it would be a "matter of days," and not months, to fully restore the grid — referring to the drawn-out power restoration after Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Since then, the island's power crews were able to restore electricity to about 100,000 customers living in the northeast region near the capital San Juan, Luma Energy, the island's private electric utility, wrote on Facebook.
President Biden has approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico on Sunday, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts.
Adrian Florido contributed reporting.
veryGood! (6965)
Related
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Erica Ash, 'Mad TV' and 'Survivor's Remorse' star, dies at 46: Reports
- Olympics 2024: Brody Malone's Dad Will Bring You to Tears With Moving Letter to Gymnast
- 'Ugly': USA women's basketball 3x3 must find chemistry after losing opener
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- FCC launches app tests your provider's broadband speed; consumers 'deserve to know'
- Judges strike down Tennessee law to cut Nashville council in half
- Frederick Richard next poster athlete for men's gymnastics after team bronze performance
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- The 25 Most Popular Amazon Items E! Readers Bought This Month: Viral Beauty Products & More
Ranking
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's Daughter Sunday Rose, 16, Looks All Grown Up in Rare Red Carpet Photo
- Second spectator injured in Trump campaign rally shooting released from hospital
- Artificial turf or grass?: Ohio bill would require all pro teams to play on natural surfaces
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Lands’ End 75% off Sale Includes Stylish Summer Finds, Swimwear & More, Starting at $11
- Construction company in Idaho airport hangar collapse ignored safety standards, OSHA says
- 2024 Olympics: Gymnast Aly Raisman Defends Jade Carey After Her Fall at Paris Games
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
Olympic medals today: What is the medal count at 2024 Paris Games on Tuesday?
Car plunges hundreds of feet off Devil's Slide along California's Highway 1, killing 3
Orville Peck makes queer country for everyone. On ‘Stampede,’ stars like Willie Nelson join the fun
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
Simone Biles and Team USA take aim at gold in the women’s gymnastics team final
Disney Store's new Halloween costumes include princesses, 'Inside Out 2' emotions
72-year-old woman, 2 children dead after pontoon boat capsizes on Lake Powell in Arizona