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Hurricane Fiona battered Puerto Rico on Sunday, cutting power to the entire island while bringing destructive winds and life-threatening flash flooding.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
The storm made landfall along the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico at 3:20 p.m. local time, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
The center warned that both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic should expect “catastrophic flooding” from the slow-moving storm.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Sept. 20
The National Guard is seen driving in Puerto Rico.
National Guard of Puerto Rico/AFP/Getty Images
National Guard of Puerto Rico/AFP/Getty Images
Sept. 20
Members of the National Guard carry out rescues in Puerto Rico.
National Guard of Puerto Rico/AFP/Getty Images
National Guard of Puerto Rico/AFP/Getty Images
Sept. 20
A bridge destroyed by a river flood in the aftermath of the hurricane in Guayama, Puerto Rico.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Sept. 20
Women stand next to a house destroyed by a river flood in the Guayama, Puerto Rico.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Sept. 20
Neighbors work to recover belongings after the flooding from the storm in Higüey, Dominican Republic.
Ricardo Hernandez/AP
Ricardo Hernandez/AP
Sept. 20
Fishermen and owners check their boats and remove the water in Samana, Dominican Republic.
Erika Santelices/AFP/Getty Images
Erika Santelices/AFP/Getty Images
Sept. 20
A damaged plantain farm in Guayama, Puerto Rico.
Alejandro Granadillo/AP
Alejandro Granadillo/AP
Sept. 20
The storm damaged a restaurant located on the Malecon de Samana in Samana, Dominican Republic.
Erika Santelices/AFP/Getty Images
Erika Santelices/AFP/Getty Images
Sept. 20
Nereida Batista carries damage belongings after flooding affected her home in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Sept. 20
People clear mud from roads in Higuey, Dominican Republic.
Ricardo Hernandez/AP
Ricardo Hernandez/AP
Sept. 19 | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Hurricane Fiona makes landfall and brings heavy wind and rain.
Dan Morris/Reuters
Dan Morris/Reuters
Sept. 19 | Nagua, Dominican Republic
Fiona's strong winds make it difficult for two young men to walk.
Orlando Barria/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Orlando Barria/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Sept. 19 | Veron de Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Residents replace a home's roof that was torn off by Fiona in the low-income neighborhood of Kosovo.
Ricardo Hernandez/AP
Ricardo Hernandez/AP
Sept. 19 | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Broken umbrellas lie on the beach.
Ricardo Hernandez/AP
Ricardo Hernandez/AP
Sept. 19 | Samana, Dominican Republic
A police officer chops apart a fallen tree blocking a road after Fiona makes landfall.
Orlando Barria/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Orlando Barria/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Sept. 19 | Higuey, Dominican Republic
A man on a motorcycle rides past fallen power lines.
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Sept. 19 | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
A view of destroyed buildings in the aftermath Hurricane Fiona.
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Sept. 19 | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Destruction caused by Fiona.
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Sept. 19 | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
A man stands amid debris on the seashore in the aftermath of Fiona.
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Sept. 19 | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
A man walks with his bike past fallen trees.
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Sept. 19 | Salinas, Puerto Rico
Homes are flooded on Salinas Beach after the passing of Fiona.
Alejandro Granadillo/AP
Alejandro Granadillo/AP
Sept. 19 | Salinas, Puerto Rico
Children play in a flooded street in the aftermath of Fiona.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Sept. 19 | Salinas, Puerto Rico
A vehicle is seen submerged after Hurricane Fiona.
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Sept. 19 | Catano, Puerto Rico
A man walks down a flooded street.
Sept. 19 | Carolina, Puerto Rico
Fallen electrical poles are seen after Fiona passes through.
Jorge Muniz/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Jorge Muniz/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Sept. 19 | Salinas, Puerto Rico
People rest inside a shelter after Fiona.
Jose Rodriguez/AFP/Getty Images
Jose Rodriguez/AFP/Getty Images
Sept. 18 | San Juan, Puerto Rico
The effects of Fiona during its passage.
Thais Llorca/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Thais Llorca/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Sept. 18 | Yauco, Puerto Rico
A car sits in floodwater after Fiona sweeps through the area.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Sept. 18 | Villa Blanca, Puerto Rico
A road floods as Fiona passes through.
Jose Rodriguez/AFP/Getty Images
Jose Rodriguez/AFP/Getty Images
Puerto Rico’s governor, Pedro Pierluisi, confirmed in a tweet on Sunday afternoon that power was out on the entire island, impacting all 3.2 million people.
Jose Rodriguez/AFP/Getty Images
Fiona’s strength was enough to trigger memories of the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Maria in 2017, which severely weakened Puerto Rico’s already outdated energy infrastructure.
Jose Rodriguez/AFP/Getty Images
Sept. 18 | Cayey, Puerto Rico
A man makes his way through a flooded road.
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Since then, habitual outages, which can often extend into weeks, have become the norm.
Stephanie Rojas/AP
In Utuado, a bridge that was constructed soon after Hurricane Maria was swept away.
Stephanie Rojas/AP
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Sept. 18 | Cayey, Puerto Rico
Three people inside a house await rescue from the floods caused by Fiona.
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Sept. 18 | Villa Blanca, Puerto Rico
A road floods as Fiona passes through.
Melvin Pereira/AFP/Getty Images
Melvin Pereira/AFP/Getty Images
Sept. 18 | Cayey, Puerto Rico
A road blocked by a mudslide triggered by Fiona.
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Sept. 18 | Cayey, Puerto Rico
People clear a road of debris after a mudslide caused by Fiona.
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Sept. 18 | Yauco, Puerto Rico
A fallen tree is cleared from a road.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
“We just know this is going to happen,” said Mariana Ferré, a 23-year-old medical student from San Juan. “This isn’t a one-time occurrence. It’s every year.”
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
A Sept. 18 | Cayey, Puerto Rico
A worker clears an electricity pole knocked down by Fiona and blocking a road.
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Pierluisi hinted as much during a Sunday news conference, when he said that the grid’s failure during the storm “shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.”
Stephanie Rojas/AP
“That’s how sad it is,” Ferré said of Pierluisi’s remarks. “It’s so normalized and it shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be normal for people to lose power all the time. People literally depend on electricity to live.”
Stephanie Rojas/AP
Sept. 18 | Yauco, Puerto Rico
A gas station sign damaged by Fiona lies on the ground.
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
“It breaks my heart to see Puerto Rico’s people suffer all the time,” Ferré said. “Because it’s people with so much desire to make things better. Puerto Ricans have so much resilience, and we keep going obstacle after obstacle — but at some point that’s going to end.”
Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters
Sept. 18 | Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
Firefighters remove a fallen tree from the road.
Fire Department Bureau of Puerto/AFP/Getty Images
Fire Department Bureau of Puerto/AFP/Getty Images
“La gente no puede más,” she added. People can’t take it anymore.
Fire Department Bureau of Puerto/AFP/Getty Images
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Editing, production and text by Kainaz Amaria and María Luisa Paúl. Photo editing by Troy Witcher and Stephen Cook