Bermuda residents are boarding up their homes and businesses as Category 4 Hurricane Fiona heads toward the island with winds up to 135 mph and 50 feet tidal swells.
The storm has reached winds upward of 130mph and is expected to reach Bermuda by Friday morning before touching down in northeastern Canada by Saturday.
Scott Barnes, a fisherman, prepared for the incoming storm on Thursday by adding four anchors to one of his boats, and moving the others to a cove to protect them from the hurricane.
‘I’m taking this serious,’ Barnes said.
As of Thursday afternoon, Fiona had maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour and was about 410 miles southwest of Bermuda and moving north-northeast at 13 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
A hurricane warning remained in effect for all of Bermuda, home to more than 60,000 people, and the eye of the storm is expected to pass just west of Bermuda on Thursday night, the center said.
‘I’m taking every precaution to stay safe,’ resident DeanWilliams said. ‘Preparation is the key because as its highest intensity we can do nothing but wait it out.’
Over one million homes and businesses are still without power in Puerto Rico Thursday morning after the now-Category 4 Hurricane Fiona made its way across the island.
A man in Hamilton, Bermuda was seen boarding up a business as the threat of Hurricane Fiona lingers. The storm is currently a Category 4 threat and is swiftly moving towards Bermuda with winds up to 135mph
Residents and store owners are quickly preparing for the storm to arrive on Friday. Along with strong winds, the storm will also bring 50 feet tidal swells
Scott Barnes, a fisherman, was preparing his boats by placing one off a cove with multiple anchors and sheltering two others. Pictured: a man preparing for Hurricane Fiona
Residents said they were taking every precaution to stay safe – especially after the storm left Puerto Ricans without powers for days
A hurricane warning has been issued for all of the island of Bermuda. Hurricane Fiona ignited off Puerto Rico’s coast on Sunday as Category 1 storm before heading to the Dominican Republic
A woman was seen in Hamilton, Bermuda walking into a boarded up clothing store amid the threat of Fiona
Hurricane Fiona ignited off Puerto Rico’s coast on Sunday as Category 1 storm before heading to the Dominican Republic.
An estimated eight people have died as a result of the storm passing through Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, according to Reuters. A count by CNN indicates at least one death in Guadeloupe, two in Puerto Rico and two in the Dominican Republic.
In addition to the power outages across Puerto Rico, more than 450,000 people are still without water service as of Thursday.
Currently, the pace to restore power to homes is faster than efforts performed after Hurricane Maria hit in 2017 when all 1.5 million homes were without power for a week.
The now-bankrupt Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority took 11 months to restore power to all customers. LUMA Energy, which now presides over the island’s power, said ‘full restoration could take several days.’
In the Dominican Republic, more than a million people are without running water while just under 350,000 homes and businesses were without power as of Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. Juan Méndez García, director of the DR’s emergency operations center, told CNN that more than 600 homes had been destroyed while some communities are without access to aid.
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday the approval of a major disaster declaration for the territory which will allow Puerto Ricans access to grants for temporary housing and home repairs in addition to low-interest loans to cover property losses.
‘This ensures that our people will have access to additional help from FEMA to recover from the damage caused by this event,’ Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi tweeted.
Complementing the president’s efforts, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has deployed staff from city agencies to help Puerto Rican officials survey the damage.
‘The team will include representatives from New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM), New York City Department of Buildings, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and the New York City Department of Design and Construction,’ according to a news release from the mayor’s office.
In the Dominican Republic, more than a million people are without running water while just under 350,000 homes and businesses were without power
An estimated eight have died as a result of the storm passing through Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands
Hurricane Fiona tore across Puerto Rico while tearing bridges and lifting ocean water onto land
Power is estimated to be restored to Puerto Rico in the next ‘several days’
The projected path of Hurricane Fiona: The storm is estimated to hit Bermuda by Friday morning and Nova Scotia by Saturday
The impact of the storm as it is projected to land in northeastern Canada
Satellite imaging of Category 4 Hurricane Fiona as it moves toward Bermuda
A man in Wheelchair looks at a flooded road after the passage of hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico
Homes are flooded on Salinas Beach after the passing of Hurricane Fiona
Nino Correa estimated at least six Puerto Rican municipalities were cut off by the then-Category 1 hurricane
A member of the Puerto Rico National Guard guides a truck with supplies to be distributed in an affected community
A woman washes the dishes in a house near the highway connecting Miches with El Seibo in the northeast of the Dominican Republic
A man collects spring water from a mountain next to a highway in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Cayey, Puerto Rico
Commissioner for Puerto Rico’s emergency management agency Nino Correa estimated at least six Puerto Rican municipalities were cut off by the then-Category 1 hurricane.
‘We are all isolated,’ Manuel Veguilla, who lives in the cut-off neighborhood of Caguas, told CBS News.
Though the federal government has announced a public health emergency on the island, damage estimates have yet to be made.
It is estimated that Fiona dropped up to 30 inches of rain in some parts of Puerto Rico as more than 1,000 people are in shelters.
The Turks and Caicos Islands have reported minimal damage and no deaths, despite the eye of the storm passing near Grand Turk, the British territory’s capital island.
‘God has been good to us and has kept us safe during this period when we could have had a far worse outcome,’ Deputy Gov. Anya Williams said.
As government officials have started visiting islands to make repairs, many areas across the territory are still without power as of Wednesday including Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay, North Caicos, and Middle Caicos.
This aerial picture taken on September 20, 2022, shows a flooded area in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, after the the power went out with the passage of Hurricane Fiona.
Aerial picture taken on September 20, 2022, in Utuado, Puerto Rico
Aerial picture taken on September 20, 2022, shows a flooded area in Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Members of the Puerto Rico National Guard distribute water in an affected community in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Government employees delivers supplies to a person due to power and water outages
View of wrecked car in the San Jose de Toa Baja neighborhood that was flooded due to the over flow of the river Rio de la Plata
Neighbors work to recover their belongings after the flooding caused by Hurricane Fiona in the Los Sotos neighborhood of Higuey, Dominican Republic
Locals clear mud brought by Hurricane Fiona in the Los Sotos neighborhood of Higuey, Dominican Republic
Neighbors work to recover their belongings after the flooding caused by Hurricane Fiona in the Los Sotos neighborhood of Higuey, Dominican Republic
A man collects spring water from a mountain in Cayey, Puerto Rico on Tuesday
A man collects donated water bottles for drinking after Hurricane Fiona damaged water supplies in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
Neighbors work to recover their belongings from the flooding caused by Hurricane Fiona in the Los Sotos neighborhood of Higuey
Nicasio Gil walks through the stagnant water left by the swollen Duey river after the passing of Hurricane Fiona in the Los Sotos neighborhood of Higuey
A parking area is seen flooded outside the Roberto Clemente Stadium after the passage of hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico
A man wades through a flooded street in Nagua, Dominican Republic
An estimated 30 inches of rain was dropped in parts of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic
Winds reached upward of 130mph
People remove downed trees on September 20, 2022 in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The island awoke to a general island power outage after Hurricane Fiona struck this Caribbean nation two days ago
Two deaths were recorded in Puerto Rico as a result of the blackout, including one 70-year-old man who burned to death after filling his generator with gasoline as it was running and a 78-year-old man who inhaled toxic gases emitted from his own generator.
‘The damages that we are seeing are catastrophic,’ Pierluisi said. ‘What we don’t want is loss of life.’
President Joe Biden issued a message Monday to Puerto Rico: ‘We stand with you and we will get through this together.’
Brown water rushed through streets, into homes, and even consumed an airport runway in southern Puerto Rico.
Roads were turned into raging torrents as Fiona also ripped up asphalt from roads and washed away a bridge in the central mountain town of Utuado that police say was installed by the National Guard after Hurricane Maria.
The storm also ripped off the roofs of several homes, including that of Nelson Cirino in the northern coastal town of Loiza.
‘I was sleeping and saw when the corrugated metal flew off,’ he said as he observed how the rain drenched his belonging.
Ada Vivian Román, a 21-year-old photography student, said the storm knocked down trees and fences in her hometown of Toa Alta.
‘I´m actually very anxious because it’s a really slow-moving hurricane,’ she said.
She said she is also worried about whether the public transportation she relies on to get to her job at a public relations agency will be operating by the time she has to go back to the office.
Residents affected by Hurricane Fiona rest at a storm shelter in Salinas, Puerto Rico,
Members of the Puerto Rico National Guard rescue a woman stranded in her house in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Salinas
A man walks pass by a Puerto Rican flag painted on a door in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Penuelas, Puerto Rico
A second storm passing behind Hurricane Fiona has now been upgraded to Tropical Storm Gaston as of Tuesday, according to AccuWeather.com.
Gaston is not expected to be a threat to the Caribbean or to North America.
Meteorologists expect a tropical wave, which began to form Wednesday, ‘is the most significant threat for the US mainland we’ve had this hurricane season.’
The tropical rainstorm has been designated Invest 98L by the National Hurricane Center and is located near the northcentral coast of South America.
‘If the main brunt of the tropical rainstorm is able to avoid drifting over South America, it can evolve into a full-fledged tropical storm anytime through Friday while over the eastern Caribbean,’ meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
Should the storm continue to develop, the rainstorm would grow into a Category 3 hurricane that will pass toward the center of the Gulf of Mexico, AccuWeather predicts.
‘At this early stage, U.S. interests from Miami to New Orleans should closely watch the evolution of this system,’ Pastelok said.
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