After leaving a deadly trail across the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where the majority were left without power and up to eight people may have perished as a result of the storm, Hurricane Fiona grew to a ferocious Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday as it moved toward Bermuda.
Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sunday, causing catastrophic flooding and landslides there. Over the next two days, it gained strength as it ploughed into the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Although the current forecast does not envisage Bermuda receiving a direct hit, by Wednesday, Fiona was packing winds as high as 130 miles per hour (215 kilometres per hour) and was projected to strengthen as it travelled north toward Bermuda. It is expected to reach Canada’s eastern coast on Friday.
According to the forecast, Fiona’s core will continue to travel away from the Turks and Caicos Islands today before making its way toward Bermuda late on Thursday and Atlantic Canada late on Friday.
Authorities in Puerto Rico were attempting to assess the scope of the damage and begin the reconstruction process, with 40% of the island’s 3.3 million population still without access to water and 75% without power.
Dr. Maria Conte Miller, director of the Institute of Forensic Sciences, stated in a roundtable on Tuesday that at least eight deaths are being looked into as possibly being brought on by Fiona, including a sick 4-month-old baby whose mother struggled to get to the hospital due to blocked roads.
Many Puerto Ricans still have recent memories of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017. That Category 5 storm, which knocked out electricity for the entire island for a week, claimed the lives of about 3,000 people.
As Fiona moves to the west of the British Overseas Territory, the Bermuda Weather Service has issued a tropical storm warning for the archipelago, which is located 600 miles (966 km) east of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Depending on the storm’s route, hurricane-force winds may be possible, it said.
The meteorological service predicted showers, thunderstorms, and heavy rain for Thursday and Friday as “outer rain bands will surge into the region.”
According to LUMA Energy, 1.07 million households and businesses in Puerto Rico were still without power as of noon on Wednesday. The company has warned that it could take several days for all 1.5 million customers to have their electricity fully restored.
Fiona caused significant flooding in the adjacent Dominican Republic, cutting off power to hundreds of thousands of residents, obstructing roads into villages, and displacing 12,500 people.
Since Jeanne caused significant damage in the east of the country in 2004, Fiona was the first hurricane to directly strike the Dominican Republic.
On Tuesday evening, U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra proclaimed Puerto Rico to be in a state of public health emergency, opening available government resources and equipment for the island.
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NEWS SOURCE: CRUCIAL NEWS GLOBAL
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