Hurricane Fiona Churns North as Category 4 Storm, Expected to Intensify: NHC
Fiona strengthened to a category 4 hurricane with max sustained winds of 130 mph, and it could intensify further, the National Hurricane Center says. Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic face devastating floods
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Hurricane Fiona brought historic amounts of rain to Puerto Rico just 5 years after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. News 4’s Gaby Acevedo reports.
Hurricane Fiona strengthened to a monster Category 4 storm early Wednesday, becoming the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season after devastating Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with feet of rain and catastrophic flooding.
The brutal system thrashed Turks and Caicos for most of the day Tuesday, and the National Hurricane Center says Fiona is expected to strengthen through Wednesday night, with some fluctuations in intensity possible through Thursday.
As of NHC's 11 a.m. update, the center of Fiona was about 675 miles southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning have been issued there ahead of the storm's expected arrival late Thursday.
Fiona is expected to stay a hurricane-force cyclone through Saturday, and parts of Canada along the Atlantic, though, are being advised to monitor the storm's progress.
Hurricane-force and tropical-force winds extend outward up to 45 and 160 miles, respectively, from the center.
Impacts going forward aren't expected to be as severe as they were in Puerto Rico, which just marked the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria, which blasted the U.S. territory as a category 5 storm and killed more than 3,000 people.
Communities in southern parts of Puerto Rico were inundated again Monday with torrential rain and wild winds, amounting to more than 2 feet of water in spots as the threat of deadly mudslides loomed. Lago Cerillos, not far from Ponce, where Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico ahead of a second landfall in the Dominican Republic a day later, saw nearly 3 feet of fain. The National Hurricane Center says parts of Puerto Rico could see 35 inches, ultimately.
President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency for Puerto Rico ahead of the storm, while the governor of Puerto Rico, as the worst of it hit, described "catastrophic" damages as the island plunged into darkness.
Luma, the company that operates power transmission and distribution, said bad weather, including winds of 80 mph, had disrupted transmission lines, leading to “a blackout on all the island.”
As of now, it poses no threat to any part of the mainland U.S., although large swells will bring high surf to tri-state area beaches by the end of the week. People in coastal areas are advised to be wary of rip currents as well.
Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works
A collapsed section of Highway 109 in Añasco, Puerto Rico, seen on Sept. 20, 2022. Hurricane Fiona swept through Puerto Rico, triggering a blackout and cutting off potable water for much of the island.
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A person cooks in the dark as power remains out in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sept. 19, 2022, after Hurricane Fiona swept through the area.
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Power remains out at the Condado community of Santurce in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 19, 2022, after Hurricane Fiona swept through the island. The storm strengthened to Category 3 as it headed for the Turks and Caicos Islands Tuesday.
Alejandro Granadillo/AP
Homes are flooded on Salinas Beach by stormwaters from Hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, Sept. 19, 2022.
Alejandro Granadillo/AP
Streets are flooded on Salinas Beach after Hurricane Fiona swept through Salinas, Puerto Rico, Sept. 19, 2022.
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A man walks down a flooded street in the Juana Matos neighborhood of Catano, Puerto Rico, Sept. 19, 2022, after Hurricane Fiona swept through the area.
Puerto Rico Department of Public Security
Rubble and glass shards blanket the shattered interior of a bank in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Sept. 19, 2022, after Hurricane Fiona swept through the island.
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Civil defense personnel and firefighters clear fallen trees from the highway connecting the provinces of Maria Trinidad Sanchez and Samana, Dominican Republic, Sept. 19, 2022.
Stephanie Rojas/AP
A road is blocked by a mudslide caused by Hurricane Fiona in Cayey, Puerto Rico, Sept. 18, 2022.
Ricardo Hernandez/AP
Residents stand amid damaged homes caused by Hurricane Fiona in the low-income neighborhood of Kosovo, Veron de Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Sept. 19, 2022.
JOSE RODRIGUEZ/AFP via Getty Images
A man and two children walk in a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on September 19, 2022. Hurricane Fiona smashed into Puerto Rico, knocking out the US island territory’s power while dumping torrential rain and wreaking catastrophic damage before making landfall in the Dominican Republic on Sept. 19.
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A flooded road is seen during the passage of hurricane Fiona in Villa Blanca, Puerto Rico, on September 18, 2022.
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People await inside a shelter after the passage of hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on September 19, 2022.
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A man wades through a flooded street in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 19, 2022, after the passage of Hurricane Fiona.
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A flooded road is seen during the passage of hurricane Fiona in Villa Blanca, Puerto Rico, on September 18, 2022.
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A flooded street is seen after the passage of hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on September 19, 2022.
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A woman stands outside her flooded house after the passage of hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on September 19, 2022.
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People arrive at a shelter after the passage of hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on September 19, 2022.
ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP via Getty Images
People remain next to a flooded street in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 19, 2022, after the passage of Hurricane Fiona.
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A woman watches a street flooded after the passage of hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on September 19, 2022.
Eighty percent of Puerto Rico is still in the dark following hurricane Fiona. Gaby Acevedo reports.
