By DÁNICA COTO
HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico’s southwest coast on Sunday because it unleashed landslides, knocked the ability grid out and ripped up asphalt from roads and flung the items round.
Forecasters stated the storm would trigger catastrophic flooding and threatened to dump “historic” ranges of rain, with as much as 25 inches (64 centimeters) attainable in remoted areas.
“I urge people to stay in their homes,” stated William Miranda Torres, mayor of the northern city of Caguas, the place not less than one massive landslide was reported, with water dashing down a giant slab of damaged asphalt and right into a gully.
The storm additionally washed away a bridge within the central mountain city of Utuado that police say was put in by the National Guard after Hurricane Maria hit in 2017.
Fiona hit about 15 miles (25 kilometers) south-southeast of Mayaguez with most sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph), in response to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was transferring to the northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).
Fiona struck on the anniversary of Hurricane Hugo, which hit Puerto Rico 33 years in the past as a Category 3 storm.
The storm’s clouds coated the whole island and tropical storm-force winds prolonged so far as 140 miles (220 kilometers) from Fiona’s heart.
U.S. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency within the U.S. territory as the attention of the storm approached the island’s southwest nook.
Luma, the corporate that operates energy transmission and distribution, stated unhealthy climate, together with winds of 80 mph, had disrupted transmission traces, resulting in “a blackout on all the island.”
“Current weather conditions are extremely dangerous and are hindering out capacity to evaluate the complete situation,” it stated, including that it may take a number of days to completely restore energy.
Health facilities have been working on turbines — and a few of these had failed. Health Secretary Carlos Mellado stated crews have been working to restore turbines as quickly as attainable on the Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Fiona hit simply two days earlier than the anniversary of Hurricane Maria, a devastating Category 4 storm that struck on Sept. 20, 2017, destroying the island’s energy grid and inflicting almost 3,000 deaths.
More than 3,000 houses nonetheless have solely a blue tarp as a roof, and infrastructure stays weak.
“I think all of us Puerto Ricans who lived through Maria have that post-traumatic stress of, ‘What is going to happen, how long is it going to last and what needs might we face?’” stated Danny Hernández, who works within the capital of San Juan however deliberate to climate the storm together with his mother and father and household within the western city of Mayaguez.
He stated the environment was gloomy on the grocery store as he and others stocked up earlier than the storm hit.
“After Maria, we all experienced scarcity to some extent,” he stated.
The storm was forecast to pummel cities and cities alongside Puerto Rico’s southern coast that haven’t but absolutely recovered from a string of robust earthquakes beginning in late 2019.
Officials reported a number of highway closures throughout the island as bushes and small landslides blocked entry.
More than 780 individuals with some 80 pets had sought shelter throughout the island by Saturday evening, nearly all of them within the southern coast.
Puerto Rico’s energy grid was razed by Hurricane Maria and stays frail, with reconstruction beginning solely lately. Outages are a each day incidence.
In the southwest city of El Combate, resort co-owner Tomás Rivera stated he was ready however anxious concerning the “enormous” quantity of rain he anticipated. He famous {that a} close by wildlife refuge was eerily quiet.
“There are thousands of birds here, and they are nowhere to be seen,” he stated. “Even the birds have realized what is coming, and they’re preparing.”
Rivera stated his workers introduced bedridden relations to the resort, the place he has stocked up on diesel, gasoline, meals, water and ice, given how slowly the federal government responded after Hurricane Maria.
“What we’ve done is prepared ourselves to depend as little as possible on the central government,” he stated.
It’s a sentiment shared by 70-year-old Ana Córdova, who arrived Saturday at a shelter within the north coastal city of Loiza after shopping for a great deal of meals and water.
“I don’t trust them,” she stated, referring to the federal government. “I lost trust after what happened after Hurricane Maria.”
Puerto Rico’s governor, Pedro Pierluisi, activated the National Guard because the Atlantic hurricane season’s sixth named storm approached.
“What worries me most is the rain,” stated forecaster Ernesto Morales with the National Weather Service in San Juan.
Fiona was predicted to drop 12 to 16 inches (30 to 41 centimeters) of rain over japanese and southern Puerto Rico, with as a lot as 25 inches (64 centimeters) in remoted spots. Morales famous that Hurricane Maria in 2017 had unleashed 40 inches (102 centimeters).
Pierluisi introduced Sunday that public colleges and authorities businesses would stay closed on Monday.
Fiona was forecast to swipe the Dominican Republic on Monday after which northern Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands with the specter of heavy rain. It may threaten the far southern finish of the Bahamas on Tuesday.
A hurricane warning was posted for the Dominican Republic’s japanese coast from Cabo Caucedo to Cabo Frances Viejo.
Fiona beforehand battered the japanese Caribbean, killing one man within the French territory of Guadeloupe when floods washed his residence away, officers stated. The storm additionally broken roads, uprooted bushes and destroyed not less than one bridge.
St. Kitts and Nevis additionally reported flooding and downed bushes, however introduced its worldwide airport would reopen on Sunday afternoon. Dozens of consumers have been nonetheless with out energy or water, in response to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.
In the japanese Pacific, Tropical Storm Madeline was forecast to trigger heavy rains and flooding throughout components of southwestern Mexico. The storm was centered about 155 miles (245 kilometers) south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes Sunday morning, with most sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph).
Source: www.bostonherald.com”