The storm is expected to move north later this week.
19.9. 14:42 | Updated 7:23 am
In the Caribbean Hurricane Fiona has flooded several roads and downed trees and power poles in the Dominican Republic’s Punta Cana area on the eastern tip of the island.
On Monday, the hurricane moved from the territory of Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic, where a general alert has been issued for about half of the provinces. According to the rescue authorities, almost 800 people have taken shelter in “safe areas”.
Fiona strengthened to a Category Two hurricane late Monday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Continued rain and further catastrophic flooding are possible overnight in both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the NHC predicted.
Puerto Rico governor Pedro Pierluis said the storm had caused “catastrophic” damage since Sunday. Much of Puerto Rico, with a population of three million, was without power due to the hurricane. According to the governor, electricity was restored to about one hundred thousand customers on Monday.
According to the authorities, Fiona has left about 196,000 people without drinking water as a result of power outages and flooded rivers.
The storm is expected to move north later this week. The storm is heading out to sea but may come dangerously close to Bermuda, a British overseas territory.
Fiona already claimed its first death when it was still classified as a tropical storm. A man died in Guadeloupe, which belongs to France, when floodwaters swept away his house.
Puerto Rico suffered major devastation during the 2017 hurricanes – Irma and Maria.
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