As the slow-moving storm headed north after a punishing push across the island, top Federal Emergency Management Agency officials made repeated promises: It won’t be like last time. FEMA, they insisted, is far better prepared for Fiona than it was in 2017, when Maria hit Puerto Rico, plunging the island into one of the largest blackouts in US history and claiming thousands of lives. In an after-action report, the agency admitted systemic failures during the humanitarian crisis. “We’re in a much better position today than we were before Maria,” Keith Turi, FEMA’s assistant administrator for recovery, said in an interview. By early Tuesday morning, rain in Puerto Rico had eased as the storm began to pound the Turks and Caicos and threaten Bermuda with winds that had picked up speed, making it a Category 3 hurricane. But even as Fiona moves on, leaves a daunting path to recovery in Puerto Rico. Downpours will also continue in some parts of the archipelago, exacerbating already dire flooding and further complicating the response. Officials have said at least four people have died there, but have warned that the toll could rise once emergency officials can assess the full extent of the damage. Residents still struggling to rebuild after Maria will be watching the recovery process closely in the coming weeks and months, many skeptical of the government’s ability to help, with billions of dollars in promised federal relief funds yet to be disbursed half a decade later. On Sunday, President Biden issued an emergency disaster declaration, and Puerto Rico officials on Tuesday said they expect Biden to upgrade it to a major disaster declaration, which would unlock more federal resources for response and recovery. “Biden has promised to give our request prompt attention,” said Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluigi. The damage is “catastrophic”, he added, especially in the southern and central regions. “The devastation caused by Hurricane Fiona was devastating for many people,” Pierluisi said. Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico 5 years ago. The recovery was in many ways just beginning. FEMA chief Deanne Criswell traveled to the Big Island on Tuesday to assess the impact and said the agency plans to send hundreds of additional employees to help with the recovery. “Our partnership with the government of Puerto Rico has never been stronger,” she said in a statement. Criswell said her agency’s top priorities are saving lives and restoring power. Federal resources will be key to both goals, especially in supporting the island’s patchy power grid, which was completely knocked out when Fiona made landfall over the weekend. By Tuesday afternoon, power had been restored to nearly 1 in 5 homes and businesses in Puerto Rico, according to Luma Energy, the private company that manages the island’s electricity transmission. About 1.2 million customers were still without power, relying on generators or left in the dark. In any emergency response, restoring power is key, said W. Craig Fugate, FEMA administrator during the Obama administration. Once the electricity comes back online, locations have a much easier time meeting the needs of the community. Accumulated flooding after Fiona could make roads and other areas inaccessible to utility workers, delaying recovery, he said. About 20 percent of power restored at this point is “a good sign,” Fugate said, but the process could be delayed as teams move around the island. “In general, recovery goes quickly for the areas with limited damage and then slows as repairs become more complex in the heavily damaged areas,” he said. It’s still too early to judge the intergovernmental response to Fiona, Fugate said, but FEMA appeared well prepared. Fugate recalled visiting an agency warehouse in Puerto Rico during his tenure, which did not include the response to Maria, and finding the shelves inside “barren.” The team there was stocked based on what was needed during previous responses, but Fugate said FEMA should be prepared for the “worst case scenario” on the island. The agency’s report in the aftermath of Maria acknowledged that FEMA suffered from a critical shortage of relief supplies, which were taxed during the response to an earlier hurricane, Irma, that passed near the island shortly before Maria hit. Officials also struggled with logistical issues and staff shortages. A year later, Puerto Ricans judged the response a failure at every level of government. However, FEMA officials say they have learned from the experience and increased their preparations. “We have 10 times more food and water and three times more generators on the island today than before Maria,” said Turi, the agency’s assistant administrator for recovery. About 700 FEMA personnel are stationed in Puerto Rico to help with Maria’s recovery effort, he said, and can help with Fiona’s response if needed. While the extent of the damage is still being assessed, early reports indicate that the southern part of the big island and its central mountainous regions suffered the most damage, with flash floods and mudslides. A large portion of the state received more than 20 inches of rain, with several pockets recording more than 25 inches. The heavy downpour caused rivers and canals to overflow, sweeping away bridges, such as the one spanning the Guaonica River in Utuado, a town in the central mountains. In the Ponce area, the hurricane dropped more than 32 inches of rain. Expected rainfall over the next few days could also push rainfall totals in other areas to 30 inches. And to the southwest, the Guanajibo River near the town of Hormigueros rose to more than 29 feet, well above the threshold for a major flood and higher than its previous record level of just over 28½ feet, set during Maria. “What Hurricane Maria brought was wind, a lot of wind — unlike it, which brought a lot of water,” said Eric R Garcia Flores, a member of a rescue unit in Caguas, a mountain municipality that suffered extensive damage. FEMA officials said they could not yet estimate the extent of the economic impact on the island, but stories of loss have emerged from many towns and cities. In the Susúa Baja neighborhood of Yauco, the home of Radamés Ramírez and Keily Sánchez had survived hurricanes George and Maria. But not Fiona. The couple, their daughter and their pets were forced to leave the property, located about 60 miles southwest of San Juan, on Saturday after part of their wood-clad and zinc roof collapsed, they told Primera Hora newspaper. When the couple returned Monday morning to assess the damage, there wasn’t much left. The floor was flooded and water seeped through the walls. The couch, a recent gift, was so soaked with water that they had to throw it out. “It wasn’t a castle, but it was my home, and that made me feel happy,” Ramírez told the outlet in an interview. In the central city of Cidra, Gabriela Colón Arzola described a harrowing escape from her flooded home with her two children. The water was rising into the house, threatening to trap them, he said in a video published by el Nuevo Día. After she finally opened the door, she saw her car covered in water and washing machines floating in the street. The three climbed to the top of a nearby hill and took shelter in a neighbor’s house. On Tuesday, Colón Arzola told the newspaper, she returned to her home to assess the damage. All she managed to save was her baby’s cradle. “I have no diapers, I have no clothes, I have nothing,” the woman said. “I’m starting from scratch.” and Arelis R. Hernandez and Jason Samenow contributed to this report.
