Hurricane Fiona Devastates
Five years ago Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, and just days ago Puerto Rico was hit again by Hurricane Fiona. Hurricane Fiona has left the Island in devastation, with more than 20 inches of rain overall, 30 inches in southern Puerto Rico, flash flooding, mudslides, and winds up to 103 miles per hour. Hurricane Fiona was declared a disaster, making it this year’s first “major hurricane”. Four people died during the storm, with 165 people in shelters and thousands needing rescue. These weather conditions caused severe power outages and the destruction of homes. Fiona left water leaking through the walls, flooded floors, and almost all belongings were damaged. The impact extended beyond Puerto Rico leaving more than 1.15 million households and businesses in the Dominican Republic without power and potable water. Hurricane Fiona even affected parts of Atlantic Canada. Even though it spread across the hemisphere, Puerto was the hardest hit.
Why did Hurricane Fiona so greatly impact Puerto Rico’s power? Though Fiona left Puerto Rico in the dark, their power grid was already failing before the hurricane. Five years ago when Hurricane Maria, a near-Category 5 storm, hit the island it left 3,000 people dead and it damaged 80% of the power system. Hurricane Fiona, with far less damaging winds, is still the strongest storm to hit the island since. Puerto Ricans are blaming the power outages from Fiona on the failed effort to get power back from when Maria hit. Throughout the last few years there have been many power disruptions because the grid was never fully back to 100%. So when Hurricane Fiona came, it easily swept out Puerto Rico’s power. The power company on the island believes it could take weeks, maybe even longer to fully restore electricity.
Since the hurricane hit, power had been restored to around 100,000 customers out of 1.5 million. In 2017 when Maria came through the federal government paid 3.2 billion dollars to patch up the electrical grid. That was just to get the power back on. To modernize the outdated and inefficient system, congress is reserving 10 billion dollars. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority is bankrupt, so any new upgrades will be financed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Since Maria, federal recovery funds have mostly gone to emergency response, not infrastructure, and the vast majority still hasn’t been spent.
The hurricane reveals the inequalities that Puerto Ricans have been facing for years as a United States territory. With no representaion in the electoral system, their needs are not the priority of the U.S government. Puerto Rican activist, Astrid Cruz-Negrón, said, “Atmospheric phenomena have to occur, but we have seen that, regardless of the strength of the storm, what causes the most damage is the fragility of the social system, of the infrastructure, of the capacity to respond.
In the wake of Hurricane Fiona, many Puerto Ricans face food and medication shortages, without refrigeration, air conditioning and clean water. Even though some power is returning, the risk of power outages still exists. Many had not prepared for the hurricane, they are now worried and left in distress. Puerto Ricans are hoping they can get back on their feet quickly after this hurricane.
– Arterina Bailey ’26
The Reserve Record 