“Fiona” made landfall as a hurricane in Puerto Rico on Sunday, causing flooding and severe damage – with Governor Pedro Pierluisi calling the scale of the destruction “catastrophic.” There was a complete blackout in the US Caribbean. Even on Thursday, 68 percent of customers were still without power in the sweltering heat, according to electricity supplier Luma Energy, and nearly 33 percent were without water, according to the Water Authority. The storm caused flooding, damage and at least two deaths in the Dominican Republic, according to media reports.
Five years after the devastating hurricane “Maria” with almost 3000 deaths, Puerto Rico’s infrastructure was already fragile, and now it has been hit hard again. US President Joe Biden on Thursday pledged the full government budget for debris removal, search and rescue, restoration of power and water and shelter and food. “We will stand by the people of Puerto Rico now, until this is over,” he said in an exchange with Pierluzzi. After Hurricane Maria, Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump’s disaster management was heavily criticized.
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