Hurricane Fiona hits Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Turks and Caicos

In between the overbearing news reports on the Queen’s tragic death, you may or may not have heard that Hurricane Fiona has wreaked havoc in the Caribbean.

Hurricane Fiona has devastated various islands in the Caribbean including the Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Millions in Puerto Rico are facing massive floods, mudslides, and blackouts. Most people are now without electricity or running water and rescuers are using heavy equipment bring survivors to safety and shelter.

The Turks and Caicos Islands were hit on Tuesday by a Category 3 storm. The eye of the storm passed close to Grand Turk after the government imposed a curfew and urged people to flee flood-prone areas.

A storm surge could raise water levels by up to 8 feet above normal, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Massive flooding and landslides have damaged the island’s infrastructure.

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.

The majority of the island has no power, according to PowerOutage.us.

775,000+ residents have no access to clean water.

In a press briefing on Monday, Puerto Rican Governor Pedro Pierluisi said the damages on the island are “catastrophic.”

“In many areas, flooding is worse than what we saw during Hurricane Maria,” Pierluisi said.

“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 rainfall knocked out the nation’s power grid. Thankfully, officials are expecting it to only take a few days to fully restore service to over a million residents.

Since then, Luma Energy, the island’s private electric utility, have restored electricity to about 100,000 people living near the capital, San Juan.

President Biden has also approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico as of Sunday, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts.

Maybe President Biden will donate a couple of billion dollars to these nations in need.

However, here is how you can donate.