Current:Home > Back5 numbers that show Hurricane Fiona's devastating impact on Puerto Rico-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
5 numbers that show Hurricane Fiona's devastating impact on Puerto Rico
View Date:2024-12-23 20:16:10
In the wake of Hurricane Fiona walloping Puerto Rico, communities are underwater, bridges and roads destroyed, and many residents' homes are unlivable. Early figures indicate a tough road ahead as residents attempt to recover.
It will be some time before experts get a full handle on the scale of the damage caused by Fiona, according to Rachel Cleetus, the policy director for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"What we can be pretty sure, from looking at some of these early images that are coming in, it will be very, very significant," she said.
Here are the latest numbers:
1. Some areas of Puerto Rico got over 30 inches of rain
The island was inundated by huge amounts of rainfall, according to data from the National Hurricane Center.
Southern Puerto Rico was hit with 12 to 20 inches. Some areas received a maximum of nearly 3 feet of rain during the storm. Residents in Northern Puerto Rico saw four to 12 inches of rainfall, with some areas getting a maximum of 20 inches, the data shows. In the days following the storm, communities still got several inches of rain, and have dealt with significant flooding.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Wednesday declared a Public Health Emergency on the island because of the impact of the flooding from Fiona.
This follows President Biden's disaster declaration.
2. Dozens have to be rescued by the National Guard
As of Monday in the hard-hit municipality of Cayey, the Puerto Rico National Guard rescued 21 elderly and bedridden people at an elderly home. Landslides threatened the home's structure and residents' safety, according to the National Guard. An infantry group in the Mayagüez municipality rescued 59 people from a flooded community. That includes two bedridden elderly people and 13 pets.
These are just in areas where rescuers are able to reach.
"We haven't yet had damage assessments where people have been able to go out to some more remote areas that have been cut off completely to really start getting a sense of the scale of the damage," Cleetus told NPR.
Puerto Rican emergency management officials told The Associated Press that several municipalities are still cut off to aid days after the storm, and it's unclear how badly residents there were effected.
3. More than 900,000 are still without power
Much of Puerto Rico's infrastructure, particularly the island's power grid, are still facing difficulties that were exacerbated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. It took weeks or even months to restore power to some areas. For example, one Puerto Rican journalist told NPR he lived without power for a year. And it remained unreliable years later.
PowerOutage.us, which tracks service disruptions, says about 928,000 households are in the dark as of Friday morning — roughly five days after Fiona hit.
4. Hundreds of thousands are still without water
By Friday, government data showed that more than 358,000 customers (about 27%) were still without water service.
At one point this week, the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority reported more than 760,000 customers had no water service or were dealing with significant interruptions.
5. Puerto Rico's economy could take a multibillion-dollar hit
Cleetus believes that when experts are able to properly calculate the full destruction of Fiona, they will find a multibillion-dollar economic disaster.
Given Fiona's strength and longevity, the economic impact to Puerto Rico won't be on the same scale as Hurricane Maria, which was a Category 4 when it made landfall there. Maria left about 3,000 people dead and cost more than $100 billion in damages. For comparison, Fiona was a Category 1 hurricane when it hit the island. (It has since gained strength to a Category 4 hurricane as it approaches Bermuda.)
The problem is, Fiona arrived in Puerto Rico when it had yet to properly recover from the damage done by Maria, Cleetus said. The economic losses from this storm will be compounded by the still-existing problems on the island that were worsened by Maria, she added.
"Sometimes we tend to focus on the storms when they're in the headlines, and you look at it as a unique event," she said. "But it's the compounding effect of these events that is really pernicious for communities."
veryGood! (623)
Related
- Detroit-area police win appeal over liability in death of woman in custody
- Kara Welsh Case: Man Arrested After Gymnast Dies During Shooting
- Below Deck Mediterranean Crew Devastated by Unexpected Death of Loved One
- NASA says 'pulsing sound' inside Boeing Starliner has stopped, won't impact slated return
- Kendall Jenner Is Back to Being a Brunette After Ditching Blonde Hair
- Kristin Cavallari Shares Why She’s Having the Best Sex of Her Life With Mark Estes
- Kristin Cavallari Shares Why She’s Having the Best Sex of Her Life With Mark Estes
- Coast Guard, Navy team up for daring rescue of mother, daughter and pets near Hawaii
- Lady Gaga Joins Wednesday Season 2 With Jenna Ortega, So Prepare to Have a Monster Ball
- Overnight shootings along Seattle-area interstate injure 4
Ranking
- 2 weeks after Peanut the Squirrel's euthanasia, owner is seeking answers, justice
- Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei Set on Fire in Gasoline Attack Weeks After 2024 Paris Games
- US government seizes plane used by Venezuelan president, citing sanctions violations
- Why Kristin Cavallari Is Showing Son Camden’s Face on Social Media
- Denver district attorney is investigating the leak of voting passwords in Colorado
- 7 people killed in Mississippi bus crash were all from Mexico, highway patrol says
- Alabama man charged with murder in gas station shooting deaths of 3 near Birmingham
- Jardin Gilbert targeting call helps lead to USC game-winning touchdown vs LSU
Recommendation
-
The Bachelorette's Desiree Hartsock Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Siegfried
-
Morgan Stickney sets record as USA swimmers flood the podium
-
George and Amal Clooney walk red carpet with Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon
-
Explosion levels southwest Louisiana home, killing teen from Alabama and injuring 5
-
Northern Taurid meteor shower hits peak activity this week: When and where to watch
-
Kristin Cavallari Shares Why She’s Having the Best Sex of Her Life With Mark Estes
-
Florida's Billy Napier dismisses criticism from 'some guy in his basement'
-
The 49ers place rookie Ricky Pearsall on the non-football injury list after shooting