Hurricane Fiona deluges Puerto Rico
A North Atlantic hurricane and a West Pacific typhoon bring major impacts on the same weekend, showing the importance of early warning systems around the globe.
September is the peak of the Atlantic and West Pacific cyclone season. This last weekend has been particularly active. Hurricane Fiona hit the American island of Puerto Rico on Sunday, September 18, pouring torrential rains and causing "considerable" damage including power outages. The cyclone notably caused landslides, brought down trees and power lines, made roads impassable and led to the collapse of a bridge in a mountainous region.
Fiona carried winds blowing up to 140 km/h. It is now off the island but torrential rains were still expected in Puerto Rico overnight, producing "life-threatening and catastrophic flooding along with mudslides and landslides" alerted the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) Miami Hurricane Center. Fiona is tracking over Dominican Republic, and "life-threatening flash and urban flooding" is likely to occur on the eastern part of the island.
The depression, which upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday, is expected to strengthen and become "significant within 48 hours" according to the NHC, before heading north towards the Atlantic Ocean. Fiona has already killed one person and caused significant damage during her visit to Guadeloupe, on the night of Friday to Saturday.
