Fiona, Now a Hurricane, Hammers Puerto Rico and DR, But Will Miss U.S.

Hurricane Katrina will miss Florida and the East Coast, but has left catastrophic flooding and widespread power outages in Puerto Rico and battered the Dominican Republic with 90 mph winds, according to news reports.

The Dominican Republic was expected to see as much as 15 inches of rain in some areas, the St. Augustine Record reported Monday. Just east, in Puerto Rico, the entire island lost power and many parts were underwater.

“The damage we are seeing is catastrophic” Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said during a news conference Sunday evening, the Miami Herald reported. “The danger of flooding and landslides continues and no one should be taking to the streets with the exception of first responders.”

The hit comes almost five years after another storm, Hurricane Maria, destroyed much of Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, killed thousands of people and left parts of the island without power for months.

No deaths have been reported from Fiona, but officials said more rain was expected today.

“These rainfall amounts will continue to produce life-threatening and catastrophic flooding along with mudslides and landslides across Puerto Rico. Life-threatening flash and urban flooding is likely for easterly portions of the Dominican Republic,” the National Hurricane Center said, according to news reports.

The storm is expected to strengthen as it turns north in the Atlantic, perhaps reaching Category 3 by Wednesday as it moves east of the Bahamas. The forecast shows the storm having maximum sustained winds of 125 mph by the time it nears Bermuda later this week, the Herald reported.

Topics Catastrophe USA Natural Disasters Hurricane