Major Hurricane Fiona hits Turks and Caicos

Hurricane Fiona became a major category 3 hurricane on Tuesday as it continues its path towards the waters of the Atlantic but still threatens the Dominican Republic with heavy rains.

According to the 8 a.m. bulletin ET from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Fiona was located about 10 miles northwest of Grand Turk Island. Fiona had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and was moving north-northwest at a speed of 10 mph.

Previously, Fiona passed over the southwestern tip of Puerto Rico, where it left more than a million homes without power.

Hurricane Fiona: Current notices, watches and warnings

The Government of the Dominican Republic has discontinued the Hurricane Watch for the Dominican Republic.

Hurricane Warning:

Turks and Caicos Islands.
Tropical Storm Warning:

Southeastern Bahamas, including Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cayo, Las Inaguas, Mayaguana, and the Ragged Islands

This is how the season goes in the Atlantic

The 2022 hurricane season has been relatively calm, with several weeks without systems and the few that have occurred have not caused major damage.

Hurricane Earl, which reached category 2 in the middle of the Atlantic, caused around 40 deaths in various states of Mexico; Danielle became the first Atlantic hurricane of the season.

Before them, the current Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1, saw the formation of storms Alex, Bonnie and Colin.

Hurricane Fiona in Dominican Republic: Its Leaves devastation in its wake

Hurricane Fiona barreled toward the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday as a Category 3 storm, prompting the government to impose a curfew.

Forecasters said Fiona was expected to pass near Grand Turk, the British territory’s capital island, on Tuesday morning.

“Storms are unpredictable,” Premier Washington Misick said in a statement from London, where he was attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. “You must therefore take every precaution to ensure your safety.”

Misick is scheduled to return home on Thursday.

Early Tuesday, Fiona was centered 20 miles (30 kilometers) southeast of Grand Turk Island. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) and was moving north-northwest at 10 mph (17 kph).

The intensifying storm kept dropping copious rain over the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where a 58-year-old man died after police said he was swept away by a river in the central mountain town of Comerio.

Another death was linked to a power blackout — a 70-year-old man was burned to death after he tried to fill his generator with gasoline while it was running, officials said.

The National Guard has rescued more than 900 people as floodwaters continue to rush through towns in eastern and southern Puerto Rico with up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain forecast for some areas. Multiple landslides also were reported.

The blow from Fiona was made more devastating because Puerto Rico has yet to recover from Hurricane Maria, which killed nearly 3,000 people and destroyed the power grid in 2017. Five years later, more than 3,000 homes on the island are still covered by blue tarps.

Authorities said at least 1,300 people and some 250 pets remain in shelters across the island.

Fiona sparked a blackout when it hit Puerto Rico’s southwest corner on Sunday, the anniversary of Hurricane Hugo, which slammed into the island in 1989 as a Category 3 storm.

By Tuesday morning, authorities said they had restored power to more than 260,000 customers on the island of 3.2 million people.

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi has warned it could take days before everyone has electricity.