The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced late Wednesday night that Fiona had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. It was centered about 550 miles southwest of Bermuda, heading north at 10 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended 70 miles from the storm’s center, with tropical-force winds extending outward 205 miles. Fiona’s center is expected to pass just west of Bermuda on Thursday night, the NHC said, and approach Canada’s Atlantic provinces on Friday. It will move into the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Saturday. The US State Department had issued an advisory notice asking US citizens to “reconsider travel” to Bermuda. The storm was not expected to weaken until Friday. “Little change in strength is expected through early Friday,” the NHC wrote. “Some weakening is expected to begin on Friday, but Fiona is forecast to still produce hurricane-force winds on Friday night and Saturday after becoming post-tropical.” Bermuda could see 2 to 4 inches of rain from Fiona, the NHC said. When Fiona reaches Canada, it could bring Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and western Newfoundland anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of rain, while eastern Quebec could see 2 to 5 inches. The storm has been blamed for directly causing at least four deaths along its path in the Caribbean. More than half a million people in Puerto Rico remained without water Wednesday, and many spent hours in lines to fill jugs from water trucks, while others drew water from mountain runoff.
A woman looks at her water damaged belongings after flooding caused by Hurricane Fiona tore through her home in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. September 20, 2022. Stephanie Rojas / AP Sweat poured down the faces of people in a long line of cars in the northern mountain town of Caguas, where the government had sent a water truck, one of at least 18 so-called “oases” set up across the island. The situation was crazy for many people on an island that was again left without basic services after a storm. “We thought we had a bad experience with Maria, but this was worse,” said Gerardo Rodríguez in the southern coastal city of Salinas, referring to the 2017 typhoon that caused nearly 3,000 deaths and destroyed the island’s power grid. Hundreds of thousands of people were swept out of their homes by mud after what authorities described as a “historic” flood that dumped nearly two feet of rain on Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Fiona is seen in a satellite image at 9:30am. ET on September 21, 2022. NOAA The storm played havoc with Puerto Rico’s power grid, which had been repaired but never fully rebuilt after Hurricane Maria, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm five years ago, caused blackouts that lasted 11 months in some parts. As of Wednesday afternoon, three days after Fiona hit the island, about 70 percent of Puerto Rican customers were without power, according to government data. The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for San Juan due to the power outage. The hum of generators could be heard across the land as people grew increasingly enraged. Some were still trying to recover from Maria, which killed an estimated 2,975 people.
“Hurricane Fiona has severely impacted electrical infrastructure and generation facilities across the island. We want to make it very clear that restoration and power restoration efforts are ongoing and are being impacted by severe flooding, impassable roads, downed trees, damaged equipment and downed lines .” said Luma, the company that manages the transmission and distribution of electricity. Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluigi said Wednesday, “I continue to hope that by the end of today, a large portion of the population will have these services.” Pierluigi also tweeted Wednesday afternoon that the federal government had approved a request for a major disaster declaration in response to Fiona. Earlier Wednesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said the request was still under review. President Biden on Sunday approved a hurricane emergency declaration.
Deanne Criswell, head of FEMA, traveled to Puerto Rico on Tuesday as the agency announced it was sending hundreds of additional personnel to bolster local response efforts. Meanwhile, the US Department of Health and Human Services also declared a public health emergency on the island and deployed some teams to the island. The storm killed one man in the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe, another man in Puerto Rico who was swept away by a swollen river, and two people in the Dominican Republic: one killed by a falling tree and the other by a downed power pole. Two additional deaths were reported in Puerto Rico as a result of the blackout: A 70-year-old man burned to death after trying to fill his generator with gasoline while it was running, and a 78-year-old man police said inhaled toxic gases emitted by his generator. Why does Puerto Rico’s energy grid keep failing? 02:04 Luis Noguera, who was helping clear a landslide in the central mountain town of Cayey, said Maria left him without power for a year. Officials themselves didn’t announce a full resumption of service until 11 months after Maria hit. “We paid an electrician out of our own pocket to hook us up,” he recalls, adding that he doesn’t think the government will help much again after Fiona. Long lines were reported at several gas stations across Puerto Rico, and some pulled off a major highway to collect water from a stream. “We thought we had a bad experience with Maria, but this was worse,” said Gerardo Rodriguez, who lives in the southern coastal city of Salinas. Workers remove fallen trees in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2022. The island experienced widespread power outages after Hurricane Fiona hit. Jose Jimenez/Getty Images US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday he will push for the federal government to cover 100 percent of disaster response costs — instead of the usual 75 percent — as part of a disaster emergency declaration. “We need to make sure that this time, Puerto Rico has absolutely everything they need, as soon as possible, for as long as they need it,” he said. Many Americans had not heard from family members without power. Palm Beach County, Florida resident Nancy Valentine told CBS News, “I haven’t been able to talk to my mom and see how she’s doing.” At Boston’s Logan Airport, those arriving from Puerto Rico told of their fear of drowning in Fiona’s flood waters. Yolanda Rivera told CBS News, “We stayed in a room in a little corner that was safe, for a whole night with no light or anything. The place was so dark.” In the Turks and Caicos Islands, officials reported minimal damage and no deaths, despite the eye of the storm passing close to Grand Turk, the small island of the British territory’s capital, on Tuesday morning. The government had imposed a curfew and urged people to leave flood-prone areas. “Turks and Caicos has had an amazing experience over the last 24 hours,” said Deputy Governor Anya Williams. “It certainly came with its share of challenges.”