Hurricane Fiona continues to wreck havoc as it walloped Turks and Caicos islands Tuesday, having already devastated the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
As Fiona strengthened into a Category 3 storm late Monday, rain continued to pour down on Puerto Rico the Dominican Republic, worsening flooding, rubble and keeping millions of people without electricity.
At least four people have died in the storm, according to officials, who say nearly 80% of Puerto Rico is still without power, while in the Dominican Republic over one million people are now without running water.
Officials attributed one of the deaths in Puerto Rico to the blackout — a 70-year-old man was burned to death as he tried to fill his generator with gasoline while it was still running.
Puerto Rico’s Governor Pedro Pierluisi said it would take a matter of days for electricity to be restored to the territory, which had barely recovered from the devastation left by Hurricane Maria five years ago.
Over 900 people in Puerto Rico have been rescued by National Guard troops since the storm began. Since Sunday, roads across the territory have been upended, homes and communities have been destroyed and two airports have flooded.
Prior to Fiona’s landfall, President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency, authorizing FEMA to coordinate disaster relief in the US territory.
In the Dominican Republic, nearly 800 people have been evacuated to safer locations, and over 700 have taken to shelters as the storm has intensified.
‘The damage is considerable,’ the Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said.
A 60-year-old man in the Dominican Republic died when a tree fell on him.
Hurricane Fiona is the first hurricane to make direct contact on the Dominican Republic since 2004, when Hurricane Jeanne caused considerable damage, according to AccuWeather.
Fiona has forced 12,500 people in the Dominican Republic out of their homes, and left 709,000 without power.
The storm is set to closely pass Turks and Caicos Islands Tuesday. A storm surge could cause water levels there to raise as much as five to eight feet above normal, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Fiona had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) and has been moving north-northwest at 9 mph (15kph), according to the hurricane center. The storm will likely change into a Category 4 hurricane as it approaches Bermuda on Friday.
The storm is set to weaken before heading toward eastern Canada this weekend.
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