Fiona is expected to become a third-level staged storm killing and destroying Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
Digital Desk: Residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands have been urged to seek shelter as Hurricane Fiona volleys towards the Caribbean island, leaving deaths and wreckage in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
The strengthening category two storm, which was expected to become a category three event with gusts topping 111mph (178km/h) by Tuesday afternoon, was expected to pass close to the eastern end of the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday evening before heading for the southern Bahamas.
Fiona pumped severe rain on the Dominican Republic, killing one person, after causing major flooding in Puerto Rico, killing two, and causing widespread power outages across both Caribbean islands.
According to the United States National Hurricane Center, if it becomes a level three storm, it will be the first "significant hurricane" of the 2022 season.
The Turks and Caicos Islands, a British overseas territory with 40 low-lying coral islands and a population of around 40,000 located about 700 miles southeast of Florida, notified residents of the three eastern islands to shelter in place and ordered businesses to close.
"All persons are to remain indoors at their residence, place of safety, or where they take shelter until the NEOC declares a NATIONAL ALL CLEAR," the agency advised Grand Turk, South Caicos, and Salt Cay, inhabitants.
Overall Situations:
Residents were stockpiling food and water as shelters were being built. Foreign governments have issued travel advisories for the islands, which are major tourist destinations.
In the eastern Bahamas, similar preparations were underway. Fiona is expected to make landfall in the eastern Bahamas on Wednesday, with winds reaching level four.
Residents of Puerto Rico, continued to experience strong gusts, frequent lightning, and torrential rain on Monday. On Sunday afternoon, Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico, pouring up to 30 inches (76.2 cm) of rain in some places.
Governor Pedro Pierluisi of Puerto Rico has cautioned that it might take many days for everyone to have energy. More than 837,000 clients, or two-thirds of the island's population, no longer have access to water due to murky water at filtration plants or a shortage of power, according to officials.
The hurricane strikes Puerto Rico five years after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, causing the biggest power outage in its history and killing 3,000 people.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden met with Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi, promising to expand the number of support people dispatched to the island in the coming days.
Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will fly there on Tuesday.
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