This Sunday the eye of Hurricane Fiona made landfall in the southwest of Puerto Rico, with maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour, which caused, among many other damages, a general blackout throughout the island. Meanwhile in Japan, the one cataloged as super typhoon Nanmadol, reached the south of the country, with the threat of dangerous floods and the overflow of some rivers.
As reported by the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC), Storm Fiona became a hurricane before reaching the Puerto Rican coast. The eye of the hurricane of the third cyclone of the Atlantic season made landfall near Puerto Tocón at 3:20 p.m. local time.
According to the NHC, Fiona is a category 1 hurricane out of 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale and could cause severe flooding along the eastern and southern coast of Puerto Rico, as well as on the islands of Vieques and Culebra.
“These rains will pose an extreme risk of life-threatening flooding, especially in the southern and eastern parts of the island,” the NHC said, adding “very dangerous winds.”
The agency expects Fiona to be in the Dominican Republic on Monday and then proceed to the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday.
In this year’s hurricane season, which began on June 1 and ends on November 30, hurricanes Danielle, Earl and Fiona and tropical storms Alex, Bonnie and Colin have formed.
Meanwhile, the NHC removed the hurricane warning for the US Virgin Islands.
Fiona’s first havoc
As the hurricane moves through the island to the northwest, more than 45% of the country is without electricity, affecting more than 665,000 customers out of a total of 1.4 million, according to LUMA Energy, a company in charge of transmission and electricity distribution in Puerto Rico.
In addition, the company announced that the total restoration of the service “may take several days.”
“As a result of bad weather, including the 130 km/h winds from Hurricane Fiona, the electrical system has suffered several transmission line interruptions, which contributed to an island-wide blackout,” LUMA reported on Twitter.
Puerto Rico’s power grid is constantly disrupted, especially after the passage of Category 5 Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island five years ago and wiped out most of its power grid, causing a prolonged outage for months.
Similarly, in April of this year, Puerto Rico experienced a general blackout for several days due to a power plant fire.
Puerto Ricans seek refuge
The authorities reported that they have installed 98 shelters in almost all the municipalities on the island and that they have the capacity to serve up to 75,000 people while Fiona continues her journey.
“We ask our people to stay in their homes and seek shelter if they are in areas that are susceptible to landslides or floods,” Governor Pedro Pierluisi said at a press conference.
Pierluisi decreed a state state of emergency and requested a federal emergency declaration from Washington, which was approved by President Joe Biden this Sunday.
We saw the need to set up the Bernardo González school in our town as a refuge from the detachment of the Salto Arriba bridge. We act quickly to keep our people safe. #Utuado pic.twitter.com/643xBII4TQ
– Jorge Pérez Heredia (@JorgePere2020) September 18, 2022
The governor also announced the cancellation of classes in public schools on Monday and asked Puerto Ricans to avoid taking to the streets and reduce travel while Fiona remains on the island.
The hurricane also affected the operation of the island’s airports, causing the cancellation of all flights, while the seaports remain closed from Saturday until further notice.
Dominican Republic, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands prepare for the arrival of the hurricane
The Dominican government declared Monday a non-working day and announced the suspension of classes in all schools and universities in the country for two days while Fiona’s fury passes.
Meanwhile, the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands issued a hurricane warning to launch their evacuation plans, since according to the NHC, the arrival of Fiona is “inevitable”.
“Therefore, we are asking residents of the low-lying areas to prepare for the hurricane conditions that are forecast to occur around Tuesday morning,” said Jeffrey Simmons, acting director of the Bahamas Department of Meteorology.
Japan feels the ravages of Typhoon Nanmadol
On the other side of the world, in Japan, the powerful Nanmadol typhoon made landfall this Sunday on the island of Kyushu, in the southwest of the country. Around 20,000 people were evacuated and power outages are reported as the risk of overflowing rivers and canals increases, according to the public broadcaster NHK.
Previously, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) had classified Nanmadol as “very strong”, in addition to ensuring that it is a typhoon with “unprecedented” fury. Winds of about 230 kilometers per hour are reported over Kagoshima, a city with about 600,000 inhabitants.
This is the first time that the JMA issues a maximum alert for one of the four main islands of the archipelago, in which strong winds, rainfall and waves remain, which according to the Agency, are unprecedented in Japan.
The JMA expects Nanmadol to tour the island of Kyushu, one of the country’s most important islands, before passing Tokyo on Tuesday, weakened, before ending its tour of the island when it reaches the ocean on Wednesday.
The authorities recommended to some 7 million inhabitants of different localities of Kyushu that they look for safe places, preferably in high places and of solid construction or that they go to shelter centers if they do not have the optimal conditions to withstand the typhoon.
Nanmadol is the 14th typhoon this season ending in October and has already caused material damage in southern Kyushu.
Meanwhile, grocery stores, schools and universities in the area remain closed and flights and train trips have been cancelled.
With EFE and Reuters
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