With maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour (70 miles), Tropical Storm Fiona has gained strength and is about to become hurricane this Sunday, when in the morning hours it was already affecting Puerto Rico.
For this reason, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, approved the declaration of a state of emergency on the Island, a measure requested the day before by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, hours after declaring the emergency at the state level.
Tropical Storm #Fiona Advisory 16A: Fiona Nearing Hurricane Strength. Torrential Rains and Mudslides Expected Across Puerto Rico and The Dominican Republic. https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 18, 2022
With such a decision, Biden ordered the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to carry out the necessary efforts to “save lives, protect property, public health and safety; and avoid a catastrophe in the 78 municipalities”.
“Specifically, FEMA is authorized to mobilize and distribute at its discretion the resources necessary to alleviate the impact of this emergency,” the White House said in a statement. The US federal government will finance 75% of the emergency measures.
Likewise, Pierluisi reported that there were 79 open shelters (of the 365 enabled) with 101 people sheltered in 26 municipalities, with Guayanilla and Cabo Rojo receiving the most displaced persons.
Puerto Rico has also activated the National Guard and has issued an executive order to declare the Dry Law in the face of tropical storm Fiona and the hurricane warning for the island. According to the local newspaper First hourthe company LUMA Energy reported today that 257,350 subscribers were without electricity service due to the proximity of Fiona.
#Fiona ?️ | The National Meteorological Service exhorted the population that resides in the towns under alert to leave areas prone to flooding. https://t.co/oQ0joIzn0H
– The New Day (@TheNewDay) September 18, 2022
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC, in English) reported in its latest warning that the still tropical storm was 105 kilometers (65 miles) southeast of Ponce (Puerto Rico) and maintained a movement to the west at 13 kilometers per hour (8 miles).
Forecasters expect it to gain hurricane strength as it approaches the island, where it threatens torrential rain, mudslides, storm surge and rip currents. After passing through Puerto Rico, Fiona is forecast to move near the north coast of the Dominican Republic tonight and Monday, and near or east of the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday.
So far this hurricane season (June 1-November 30), seven named storms have formed in the Atlantic basin, of which two, Danielle and Earl, have reached hurricane status.
With information from Eph.
