SAN JUAN: Hurricane Fiona was nearing the coast of Puerto Rico on Sunday, threatening toslam the U.S. territory with "catastrophic flooding," a government agency said, while the island's fragile power grid was knocked out of service.
The storm was about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of the city of Ponce with maximum sustained winds near 87 miles per hour (140 kilometers per hour), clearing the threshold for hurricane strength, the National Hurricane Center said in an update at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT)
Electricity was out across the island of 3.3 million people, LUMA Energy, operator of the island's grid and the Puerto Rico power authority said in a statement. Earlier on Sunday, electricity had been lost to about a third of power customers.
Puerto Rico's ports have been closed and flights out of the main airport canceled. Torrential rains and mudslides were also forecast for the Dominican Republic as the storm progresses northwestward, with the Turks and Caicos Islands likely facing tropical storm conditions on Tuesday, the NHC said.
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"These rains will produce life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and urban flooding across Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic, along with mudslides and landslides in areas of higher terrain," the agency said.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico on Sunday, a move that authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief and provide emergency protective measures.
The rains have increased in intensity since Sunday morning, along with strong wind gusts, residents said.
"It has been raining heavily since 10:00 a.m. At the moment, we still have electricity service," said Kimberly Ortiz, wholives in Ciales, a town in the center of the island. "In Ciales, we have felt some wind gusts."
A wide swathe of Puerto Rico was forecast to see 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm) of rain while parts could be hit by up to 25 inches (63.5 cm), according to the NHC.
Puerto Rico's grid remains fragile after Hurricane Maria in September 2017 caused the largest blackout in U.S. history. In that Category 5 storm, 1.5 million customers lost electricity with 80% of power lines knocked out.
Authorities have opened more than 100 shelters and closed beaches and casinos, and residents were urged to seek shelter.
There has been one death reported so far tied to Fiona, in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Authorities said one man as found dead on Saturday after his house was swept away by floods there. France will recognize a state of natural disaster for Guadeloupe, President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter on Sunday.