President Joe Biden issued an emergency disaster declaration for Puerto Rico after Typhoon Fiona devastated the island on Sunday. This allows FEMA to engage with emergency response resources. The hurricane left nearly 1.5 million electricity customers in Puerto Rico without power. Every NBC NewsAccording to Luma Energy, the company in charge of transmission and distribution of electricity in Puerto Rico, about 100,000 customers had power back on Monday afternoon.
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said at a press conference that the island does not yet need humanitarian aid. “We need help with first responders,” he said. He added that New York Governor Kathy Hochul has vowed to send 100 first responders to Puerto Rico.
Governor Pierluisi explained that Puerto Rico has four warehouses with enough food and water during the emergency response period. He stressed that humanitarian aid may be needed once the island enters the recovery phase. Unfortunately, a few people died after the storm. Status report on Monday afternoon; A 58-year-old man was found dead after being dragged by the La Plata River in the town of Comerío.
In addition, two other people who died in shelters during the storm are believed to have died of natural causes. Currently, officials are waiting for the Institute of Forensic Sciences to confirm that is the case. Puerto Rico isn’t the only island hit by hurricanes. Weather reports show that the Dominican Republic has a hurricane warning from Cabo Cancedo to Cabo Frances Viejo. Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas are also being affected.
#Fiona
Scene from Hurricane Fiona as it makes landfall in Puerto Rico.#USA pic.twitter.com/8Q82JjKqN0– Of Sound Minds (@soundnessmind) September 19, 2022
Our thoughts are with those affected by the storm!
