Following Puerto Rico, where it left hundreds of people stranded and destroyed roads and bridges while causing catastrophic floods, hurricane Fiona was on course to threaten Bermuda and far-eastern Canada on Thursday.
In order to deliver food, water, and medicine to those in need, government officials have been collaborating with religious organizations, nonprofits, and others while navigating landslides, deep mud, and crumbling pavement on foot. However, they are under pressure to soon open a road so that vehicles can reach remote areas.
Fiona, which made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 1 hurricane and strengthened to a Category 4 storm Thursday as it moved toward Bermuda, cut off portions of at least six municipalities across the island, according to Nino Correa, commissioner of the island's emergency management agency.
Since Fiona made landfall on Sunday, Manuel Veguilla claimed he has been unable to leave his neighborhood in the Caguas mountain town in the north.
We are all alone, he declared, adding that he was concerned for his elderly neighbors, particularly his older brother, who lacked the stamina to make the far-off community's short trek.
Veguilla had heard that city officials might open a path on Thursday, but he didn't think it would happen because big rocks were blocking the 10-foot area beneath a nearby bridge.
He said that on Wednesday, the son of an elderly woman was able to return with basic supplies on foot. Neighbors have shared food and water left by nonprofit organizations.
Veguilla claimed that he and others used picks and shovels to clean the wreckage in the wake of Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that slammed five years ago and left over 3,000 people dead. Fiona, on the other hand, caused enormous landslides.
He answered, "I can't just chuck those pebbles over my shoulder."
Veguilla had no access to electricity or water following Fiona, like hundreds of thousands of other Puerto Ricans, but claimed that a natural water source was close by.
When Fiona struck the southwest of Puerto Rico, which was already struggling to recover after a string of powerful earthquakes in recent years, it caused an island-wide blackout. Four days after the hurricane, on Thursday, 62% of 1.47 million customers were still without power, and the National Weather Service had issued a severe heat alert. More over 400,000 people, or one-third of all subscribers, lacked water service.
Areas less hit by Fiona should have power by Friday morning, according to Josué Colón, executive director of Puerto Rico's Electric Energy Authority.
However, officials refused to specify when power would be restored to the storm's hardest-hit districts.
"We're taking small steps. Daniel Hernández, the director of renewable energy for LUMA Energy, which distributes electricity in Puerto Rico, stated that the company's next move is to concentrate on the important load, which includes service to hospitals and other crucial infrastructure.
Since the federal government authorized a major disaster declaration and declared a public health emergency on the island, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has dispatched hundreds of additional workers to assist local officials.
Officials from the local and federal governments have not yet offered any estimates of the total damage caused by the storm, which in some places dumped up to 30 inches of rain. 48 animals and more than 470 people were still housed in shelters.
Brad Kieserman, the Red Cross' vice president of operations and logistics, stated, "Our hearts go out to the people of Puerto Rico who have undergone so much hardship over the previous couple of years.
Fiona first devastated the Dominican Republic after Puerto Rico, and as it grew stronger, it raged over the Turks and Caicos Islands. Although the storm's eye passed quite close to Grand Turk, the small British territory's capital island, on Tuesday, officials there reported comparatively minor damage and no fatalities.
Deputy Governor Anya Williams remarked, "God has been nice to us and has kept us safe during this era when we could have had a far worse outcome."
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Fiona was expected to pass close to Bermuda late on Thursday or early on Friday before making landfall early on Saturday in eastern Canada.
The coasts of Newfoundland from Parson's Pond to Port-Aux-Basques, Isle-de-la-Madeleine, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia from Hubbards to Brule were all under a hurricane watch from the Canadian Hurricane Center.
Fiona had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph) on Thursday morning, according to the U.S. center. It was situated around 660 kilometers (410 miles) southwest of Bermuda and moving at 15 mph in a north-northeast direction (24 kph).
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