Hurricane Fiona reaches the Dominican Republic after hitting Puerto Rico

The eye of Hurricane Fiona has entered this Monday at 04:00 in the morning (local time) to the coast of the Dominican Republic through Cabo San Rafael (east of the country), with winds of 140 kilometers per hour and higher gusts, according to the National Office of Meteorology (Onamet).

Much of the Dominican Republic will be under the effects of the hurricane, so the whole country is on alert (thirteen provinces in red level and eighteen in yellow). Likewise, this Monday has been declared a non-working day and classes will not be taught either.

According to predictions, between 100 and 300 millimeters of rain can accumulate, although it is not ruled out that these figures reach 450 millimeters in isolated points. In this situation, it remains urban flood warningflooding of rivers, streams and ravines, as well as landslides in various provinces of the country.

This hurricane, the third of the current cyclone season, is moving west/northwest at about 15 km/h. Hurricane-force winds extend about 45 kilometers outside its center and storm-force winds about 220 kilometers. If it maintains its trajectory, it is expected that the center of Fiona will move through different provinces of the country in the next few hours. It is expected that when Fiona leaves Dominican territory, she will do so with category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scaleout of a maximum of 5.

The hurricane reaches the Dominican Republic after hitting Puerto Rico on Sundaywhere it caused damage described as “catastrophic”, a general blackout and significant flooding, as shown in the following images.