飓风菲奥娜星期二在波多黎各增强为三级风暴，造成至少四人死亡，整个岛屿断电。
这场风暴给波多黎各和维尔京群岛带来了6到20英寸的降雨量，波多黎各南部和东南部的降雨量高达30英寸。联邦紧急事务管理局官员在周二的新闻发布会上说，降雨导致河水上涨，引发了岩石和泥石流。
风暴系统目前最大持续风速为每小时125英里，在给部分岛屿带来暴雨后，它离开了特克斯和凯科斯。周三晚上，它可能会变成4级风暴，风速为每小时140英里。
国家飓风中心表示，预计风暴将继续从特克斯和凯科斯移动到周三，并于周四晚些时候接近百慕大。百慕大群岛现在处于热带风暴警戒状态。
美国联邦应急管理局官员周二表示，由于这场风暴，波多黎各至少有四人死亡。卫生与公众服务部部长泽维尔·韦塞拉周二宣布美国领土进入公共卫生紧急状态。
周一，官员报告称，当时的1级风暴袭击了该岛，造成一人死亡。官员们说，阿雷西博居民试图在他的发电机还开着的时候给它加满汽油，引起了一场点火。
据国家气象局与联邦应急管理局的联络员史蒂夫·戈尔茨坦称，截至周二下午，没有人失踪。
联邦应急管理局官员仍在评估波多黎各的损失程度，称现在评估风暴的经济影响还为时过早。
菲奥娜周一在多米尼加共和国东部的博卡德尤马附近第二次登陆，持续风速为每小时90英里，阵风甚至更大。
波多黎各州长佩德罗·皮尔路易西(Pedro Pierluisi)警告居民，预计周二晚上岛上会有更多降雨。
“我们正在经历一个困难的时刻，但我们的人民是强大和非常慷慨的，”他在新闻发布会上说。
四架直升机在空中调查菲奥娜造成的损失。州长说至少需要一周的时间来确定风暴造成的破坏程度。
Pierluisi说，除了联邦应急管理局提到的四人死亡之外，至少还有两人因自然原因在避难所死亡，但这些人没有被归类为与风暴有关。
恢复波多黎各的权力
LUMA Energy表示，截至周二上午，该岛150万客户中只有30万人恢复了供电，预计未来几天会有更多人恢复供电。
“我们向你保证，波多黎各的大部分地区今明两天都会有电，”LUMA Energy的发言人Abner Gomez在周二的新闻发布会上说。
在周二下午的更新中，联邦应急管理局表示，80%的客户仍然没有电力供应。
州长周一表示，目标是让“大量LUMA客户”在“几天内”获得电力然而，LUMA周日在一份声明中表示，“完全恢复电力可能需要几天时间。”
据总督称，岛上的医院目前靠发电机运转。
总督周一表示，在河流上涨和暴雨影响系统后，岛上只有34%的家庭有饮用水，这意味着超过834，000人没有饮用水。
官员们说，当局已经救出了1000多人，包括周日获救的一名妇女，她在试图查看损失后被困在树上七个小时。
暴雨导致全岛洪水泛滥
周日早上，菲奥娜从热带风暴增强为飓风。国家飓风中心表示，菲奥娜于美国东部时间周日下午3点20分在波多黎各西南部登陆，给该岛大部分地区带来了暴雨。
截至周一上午8点，一些地区的降雨量已达25英寸。
由于许多河流的水位迅速上涨，洪水紧急状态已经发布。里奥格兰德河在一小时内上涨了13英尺。
该岛中部山区城镇乌图阿多附近的一座桥梁倒塌，切断了当地报纸Salto Arriba和Guaonico社区的联系波多黎各之声报举报。
据El Vocero报道，倒塌的桥梁部分位于10号公路的分支123号公路上，该公路是两条公路之间的纽带，也是波多黎各大学乌图阿多校区的入口之一。
据该报报道，这座桥是由国民警卫队在飓风玛丽亚后安装的，建造成本约为300万美元。
雨水浸透了波多黎各东南部地区，以及山区，那里潜在的泥石流可能造成最大的破坏。
在登陆之前，Pierluisi表示，波多黎各已经做好准备，有足够的资源和人力来应对-并补充说，该岛从2017年9月飓风玛丽亚的毁灭性影响中吸取了教训。
“我们的处境比五年前好得多，”他说。
菲奥娜接下来会去哪里
预报显示，穿过加勒比海后，风暴系统将向北移动，在百慕大附近移动之前，将经过特克斯和凯科斯群岛东部。风暴系统将在未来几天继续逐渐加强，本周向北然后向东北移动。
百慕大现在可能不会受到菲奥娜飓风的直接袭击。
多米尼加共和国预计降雨量将达到10英寸，特克斯和凯科斯的一些地区预计降雨量将达到8英寸。
周二，波多黎各和多米尼加共和国将继续看到逐渐改善的条件，然而，挥之不去的阵雨和雷暴仍有可能，可能会影响最初的清理和恢复工作。
当风暴经过百慕大附近时，风速可能高达每小时125英里，带来强风、暴雨和风暴潮。最新的模型显示，百慕大不会受到直接袭击，最严重的风暴将在该岛西部经过。
虽然它不会在美国登陆，但随着它向北移动，飓风将通过巨浪、撕裂流和沿海洪水影响从佛罗里达到缅因州的整个东海岸。
乔·拜登总统周日批准了波多黎各紧急声明，允许联邦机构协调所有救援工作。
白宫在一份声明中说，拜登的决定“旨在减轻紧急情况对当地人口造成的困难和痛苦，并为斯塔福德法案第五章授权的必要紧急措施提供适当的援助，以拯救生命，保护财产和公共健康与安全，并减轻或避免波多黎各自由邦所有78个城市的灾难威胁”。
白宫说，联邦应急管理局局长蒂娜·克里斯威尔周二抵达波多黎各，协调应急反应。“数百名”联邦应急人员已经在岛上，包括美国陆军工程兵团的成员。
菲奥娜在瓜德罗普岛留下1具尸体
虽然仍是热带风暴，但该系统袭击了其他加勒比海岛屿。据美联社报道，在法属瓜德罗普岛有一人死亡。据美联社报道，另有20多人在大风大雨中获救。
菲奥娜的中心在周五晚上穿过瓜德罗普岛，给背风群岛带来了暴雨和狂风。
该岛在波多黎各的应急管理办公室甚至在周六上午的新闻发布会上停电。Pierluisi在周六晚上的新闻发布会上重申，人们担心暴雨会引发泥石流。
LUMA Energy的危机管理经理Abner Gomez周末告诉记者，这家能源经销商正在努力防止危机重演飓风玛丽亚的余波。
“我们将确保(大范围停电)不会发生，因为我们有工作人员，”他说。“会有损害的。会有中断，我们会做好应对的准备。”
Hurricane Fiona updates: Category 3 storm moves north after wreaking havoc in Puerto Rico
Hurricane Fiona strengthened to a Category 3 storm Tuesday after killing at least four people in Puerto Rico and leaving the entire island without power.
The storm dropped 6 to 20 inches of rain in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with up to 30 inches of rain falling in southern and southeastern Puerto Rico. The rain caused rivers to rise over their banks and triggered rock and mudslides, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said during a press conference Tuesday.
The storm system is currently carrying maximum sustained winds of 125 mph as it moved away from Turks and Caicos after dropping heavy rains over parts of the islands. It could become a Category 4 storm Wednesday night with winds of 140 mph.
The storm is expected to continue to move way from Turks and Caicos into Wednesday and approach Bermuda late Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. A tropical storm watch is now in effect for Bermuda.
At least four people have died in Puerto Rico due to the storm, FEMA officials said Tuesday. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Tuesday declared a Public Health Emergency for the U.S. territory.
On Monday, officials reported that one person was killed as the then-Category 1 storm slammed the island. The Arecibo resident was attempting to fill his generator with gasoline while it was on, causing an ignition, officials said.
No one has been reported missing as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Steve Goldstein, the National Weather Service's liaison to FEMA.
FEMA officials are still assessing the extent of the damage in Puerto Rico, saying it is too early to estimate the financial impact of the storm.
Fiona made a second landfall Monday in the Dominican Republic near Boca de Yuma on the eastern side of the island with sustained winds of 90 mph and even higher gusts.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi warned residents that more rain was expected on the island through Tuesday evening.
"We are going through a difficult moment but our people are strong and very generous," he said during a press conference.
Four helicopters are in the air surveying damage from Fiona. The governor said it would take at least a week to determine the extent of the damage left by the storm.
In addition to the four deaths cited by FEMA, at least two other people died in a shelter due to natural causes, but those have not been labeled as storm-related, Pierluisi said.
Restoring power in Puerto Rico
LUMA Energy said that only 300,000 out of 1.5 million clients have had power restored on the island as of Tuesday morning, with more expected in the coming days.
“We assure you that a large part of Puerto Rico will have electricity today and tomorrow,” Abner Gomez, spokesperson for LUMA Energy, said at a press conference Tuesday.
A man on a motorcycle rides past fallen power lines in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Higuey, Dominican Republic, Sept. 19, 2022.
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
In an update Tuesday afternoon, FEMA said that 80% of customers still remain without power.
The governor said Monday the goal is for "a large number of LUMA customers" to have power "in a matter of days." However, LUMA said in a statement Sunday that "full power restoration could take several days."
Hospitals on the island are currently operating on generators, according to the governor.
Only 34% of households on the island have potable water after rivers grew and heavy rainfall impacted the system -- meaning more than 834,000 people are without drinking water, the governor said Monday.
More than 1,000 people have been rescued by authorities, including a woman rescued Sunday who was stuck in a tree for seven hours after trying to look at the damage, officials said.
A worker cuts an electricity pole that was downed by Hurricane Fiona as it blocks a road in Cayey, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 18, 2022.
Heavy rainfall causes flooding across the island
Fiona strengthened to a hurricane from a tropical storm Sunday morning. The National Hurricane Center said Fiona made landfall in southwestern Puerto Rico on Sunday at 3:20 p.m. ET, dumping torrential rain on much of the island.
Some regions measured up to 25 inches of rain by 8 a.m. Monday.
A flash flood emergency was issued due to many rivers rising very quickly out of their banks. The Rio Grande de Arecido river rose 13 feet in one hour.
A bridge near Utuado, a town in the central mountainous region of the island, has collapsed, cutting off the communities of Salto Arriba and Guaonico, local newspaperEl Vocero de Puerto Ricoreported.
The portion of the bridge that collapsed is on Highway 123, a branch of Highway 10, which serves as a link between both roads and is one of the accesses to the University of Puerto Rico at Utuado campus, according to El Vocero.
The bridge, installed by the National Guard following Hurricane Maria, cost about $3 million to construct, the newspaper reported.
The rain saturated areas in the southeastern part of Puerto Rico, along with the mountainous areas, where potential mudslides could cause the most damage.
Prior to landfall, Pierluisi said Puerto Rico was prepared as it could be, with enough resources and manpower in place to respond -- adding that the island learned its lessons from the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
"We're much in a much better position than we were five years ago," he said.
Where Fiona heads next
After passing through the Caribbean, the storm system will head northward, passing just east of Turks and Caicos before tracking near Bermuda, forecasts show. The storm system will continue to gradually strengthen in the coming days as it moves north and then northeast this week.
Bermuda may now be spared a direct hit from Hurricane Fiona.
The Dominican Republic is expected to receive up to 10 inches and some regions in Turks and Caicos are expected to see 8 inches of rain.
On Tuesday, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic will continue to see gradually improving conditions, however, lingering showers and thunderstorms will still be likely, potentially impacting initial cleanup and recovery efforts.
Winds could be as high as 125 mph as the storm passes near Bermuda, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and storm surge. The latest model shows Bermuda will not see a direct hit, with the worst of the storm passing just west of the island.
A person walks amidst debris on the seashore in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Sept. 19, 2022.
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
While it won't make landfall in the U.S., the hurricane will affect the entire East Coast with huge waves, rip currents and coastal flooding from Florida to Maine as it moves northward.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico on Sunday, which allows federal agencies to coordinate all relief efforts.
Biden's decision has the "purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in all 78 municipalities in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico," the White House said in a statement.
FEMA Administrator Deanna Criswell arrived in Puerto Rico on Tuesday to coordinate the emergency response, the White House said. "Hundreds" of federal responders are already on the island, including members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Fiona leaves 1 dead in Guadeloupe
While still a tropical storm, the system battered other Caribbean islands. One person died in the French territory of Guadeloupe, according to The Associated Press. More than 20 others were rescued amid heavy wind and rain according to the AP.
Fiona's center moved through the island of Guadeloupe on Friday night, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds across the Leeward Islands.
The island's emergency management office in Puerto Rico even had a blackout during its Saturday morning press conference. Pierluisi reiterated during that press briefing Saturday evening that the fear is that heavy rains will produce mudslides.
LUMA Energy's Crisis Management Manager Abner Gomez told reporters over the weekend the energy distributor was working to prevent a repeat ofHurricane Maria's aftermath.
"We are going to make sure [a widespread outage] will not happen because we have the crews," he said. "There will be damage. There will be outages and we will be ready to respond."
