![Hurricane Fiona heads toward Bermuda, US advises citizens to defer travel](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/images/UrduPoint-English-22.png)
Hurricane Fiona Heads Toward Bermuda, US Advises Citizens To Defer Travel
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published September 21, 2022 | 10:00 PM
![Hurricane Fiona heads toward Bermuda, US advises citizens to defer travel](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/images/UrduPoint-English-22.png)
San Juan, Sept 21 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Sep, 2022 ) :Hurricane Fiona churned toward Bermuda as a powerful Category 4 storm on Wednesday as Puerto Rico struggled to restore power and water after receving a crushing blow.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Fiona was expected to approach Bermuda, a British territory of some 64,000 people, late on Thursday.
In Washington, the State Department advised Americans to reconsider travel to Bermuda and authorized family members of US government personnel to leave.
"US citizens in Bermuda wishing to depart the island should depart now, ahead of Hurricane Fiona's arrival," it said in a travel advisory.
Fiona was upgraded overnight to a Category 4 hurricane, the second highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The NHC said the storm was packing maximum winds of 130 miles per hour (210 kilometers per hour) as it headed north toward Bermuda at around eight miles per hour.
"On the forecast track, the center of Fiona will continue to move away from the Turks and Caicos today, approach Bermuda late on Thursday and approach Atlantic Canada late Friday," the NHC said.
"A storm surge will cause elevated water levels along the coast of Bermuda," it said. "Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves." Fiona has left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean and killed four people in Puerto Rico, according to a US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official quoted by The Washington Post.
One death was reported in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe and another in the Dominican Republic.
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell is in Puerto Rico and toured flood damaged areas with the governor of the US territory, Pedro Pierluisi.
- 'Will not stop' - FEMA said it was sending hundreds of additional personnel to Puerto Rico to help with relief efforts on the island, which suffered widespread power outages.
Pierluisi said the storm had caused catastrophic damage on the island of three million people, with some areas receiving more than 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain.
US President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico, which is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria five years ago.
LUMA, the Puerto Rico power company, said more than 2,000 utility workers were assessing damage and working to restore electricity to hundreds of thousands of customers.
"LUMA and all our partners will not stop until every customer is restored and the entire grid is reenergized," its public safety manager Abner Gomez said in a statement.
The storm also left around hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without drinking water as a result of power outages and flooded rivers, officials said.
In the Dominican Republic, President Luis Abinader declared three eastern provinces to be disaster zones: La Altagracia -- home to the popular resort of Punta Cana -- El Seibo and Hato Mayor.
After years of financial woes and recession, Puerto Rico in 2017 declared the largest bankruptcy ever by a local US administration.
Later that year, the double hit from hurricanes Irma and Maria added to the misery, devastating the electrical grid on the island -- which has suffered from major infrastructure problems for years.
The grid was privatized in June 2021 in an effort to resolve the problem of blackouts, but the issue has persisted, and the entire island lost power earlier this year.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
![Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019914.jpg)
Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard
![Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on refor ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019922.jpg)
Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on reform agenda, engagement with IMF
![Finland says Russian vessel violated its territori ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019912.jpg)
Finland says Russian vessel violated its territorial waters
![Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019266.jpg)
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
![West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019264.jpg)
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
![Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murde ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019262.jpg)
Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murder of nationalist ex-MP
![Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris ope ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019015.jpg)
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
![Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inau ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019638.jpg)
Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inauguration reception
![Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Z ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019637.jpg)
Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Zardari at Governor's House
![Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019635.jpg)
Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympic coach sent home: official
![Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019013.jpg)
Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fighting against SL
!['Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019634.jpg)
'Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: What we know
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Political Harmony: A bedrock for strengthening democracy
20 hours ago -
Renewable Energy Resources: A quest for resilient energy landscape
6 days ago -
Dispute Resolution - A step towards speedy justice, social harmony
6 days ago -
South Punjab mangoes - another victim of climate change
6 days ago -
European Commission was wrong to redact Covid vaccine deal details: EU court
10 days ago -
Homemade mango pickle - a diminishing tradition
13 days ago
-
Digital Economy - a technological tool to unlock Pakistan's growth
13 days ago -
Handicraft industry - preserving centuries old asset
13 days ago -
Handicraft industry - preserving centuries old asset
15 days ago -
Pakistan: Bearing fury of Climate Change
20 days ago -
Khalid Fatemi’s book “Namurad Karachi” launched
21 days ago -
Tributes paid to renowned painter Naheed Raza
21 days ago