Category 1 Hurricane Fiona made landfall in southwestern Puerto Rico on Sunday, where its maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour (85 miles) and heavy rains caused a general blackout, severe flooding and damage classified as “catastrophic”.
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Fiona, which until the beginning of this day was a tropical storm, strengthened as it approached Puerto Rico and its eye passed near Punta Tocón at 3:20 local time according to the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC, in English). ).
In his last press appearance, the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi acknowledged that there is “catastrophic damage” on the island, both in private homes and in public infrastructures.
From Cabo Rojo, on the southwestern coast, where the eye of the hurricane passed, Gilberto A. Ruiz told Efe that “there are many floods, many fallen trees and many blown roofs.”
“At first there were very strong winds, then there was a calm for about 10 minutes, as if nothing was happening, but now the other part of the hurricane came, and much stronger,” said the resident of Cabo Rojo.
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The NHC warned that the hurricane has “very dangerous winds”, could produce storm surge flooding of 30 to 90 centimeters (1 to 3 feet) on the east and south coast of the island and bring rainfall of between 30 to 40 centimeters (12 to 16 inches), and in some areas up to 63 centimeters (25 inches).
Strong gusts of wind and rain were felt in Puerto Rico since the day before and intensified during this day, causing the loss of electricity service on the island.
days blackout
“As a result of the bad weather, the electrical system has suffered several interruptions in the transmission lines, which contributed to a blackout throughout the island,” LUMA Energy, the company in charge of the transmission and distribution of electricity, reported on Twitter.The company announced that “due to the magnitude and scope of the blackout, the total restoration of electrical service may take several days.”
Creepy! Temporary bridge that was installed on Highway PR-123 in Salto Arriba, Utuado, after the passage of Hurricane Maria, it disappears due to flooding by #Fiona.
Once again, a community is left incommunicado. pic.twitter.com/V2wg1RcOx9
– Juan R. Costa (@NotiJuan) September 18, 2022
Puerto Rico’s power grid is very fragile, especially since Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island five years ago and wiped out all of its power lines, leaving much of the population in the dark for months.
The population has once again had to resort to emergency generators and solar panels, in the case of the lucky households that have these systems.
In a building in Carolina, in the metropolitan area, the neighbors were struggling to connect to the emergency receptacles that connect to the generator, even pulling cables from one floor to another because in some floors they did not work, according to Efe.
overflowing rivers
The National Meteorological Service first reported the risk of flash flooding in the municipalities of the southeast of the island, but according to As the day progressed, this alert was extended to practically the entire territory, including San Juan and its metropolitan area.
Sylvette Almodóvar, a resident of Lajas (southwest), told Efe that her residence hall was flooded due to the rains. “We have been drawing water for more than 15 minutes,” she said.
In the opinion of this academic, the ravages of Fiona in her area, close to the place where the cyclone made landfall, are being even “worse” than during Hurricane Maria in 2017, which reached category 5.
“The winds felt very strong. It’s horrible here,” said Almodovar, who also explained that at his parents’ house, in Sabana Grande, Fiona’s winds caused trees to fall.
About 300 to 400 families living between Sabana Grande and Maricao are in fact cut off due to fallen branches and trees along Highway 120 that connects both towns, according to Maricaeño mayor Wilfredo Ruiz.
In addition, several rivers have overflowed in different regions of the island: Portugués and Cerrillos, in Ponce (south); Río Grande, in Loiza (north); and Guayanés, between Peñuelas and Yabucoa (east), among others.
A modular bridge in Utuado (center) collapsed during the passage of Hurricane Fiona, which has also caused considerable damage to many roads.
The authorities have urged communities living near rivers that have burst their banks or in flood-prone areas to immediately move to higher locations or go to some of the shelters set up.
According to government data, more than 1,000 people are currently in 105 shelters distributed throughout the island’s geography.
In total, there are 125 open shelters of the 365 available, which have a global capacity to serve up to 75,000 people, on an island of just over 3 million inhabitants.
The hurricane has caused the cancellation of all flights from the island’s airports, including the international Luis Muñoz Marín, while the seaports have been closed since Saturday and until further notice.
Governor Pierluisi proclaimed a state state of emergency on Saturday and asked Washington to declare a federal emergency, a measure approved this Sunday by the president of the United States, Joe Biden.
Fiona’s arrival occurs just 2 days before the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Maria, which caused some 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico and damage estimated at 100,000 million dollars.
EFE
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