Strengthening Fiona barrels toward Turks and Caicos Islands
Baku, September 20, AZERTAC
A strengthening Hurricane Fiona barreled toward the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday as it threatened to strengthen into a Category 3 storm, prompting the government to impose a curfew, according to AP.
Forecasters said Fiona could become a major hurricane late Monday or on Tuesday, when it was expected to pass near the British territory.
“Storms are unpredictable,” Premier Washington Misick said in a statement from London, where he was attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. “You must therefore take every precaution to ensure your safety.”
Misick was scheduled to return home on Thursday.
Fiona was centered 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of Grand Turk Island late Monday. It had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) and was moving north-northwest 10 mph (17 kph).
The intensifying storm kept dropping copious rain over the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where a 58-year-old man died after police said he was swept away by a river in the central mountain town of Comerio.
Authorities said at least 1,300 people and some 250 pets remain in shelters across the island.
Fiona sparked a blackout when it hit Puerto Rico’s southwest corner on Sunday, the anniversary of Hurricane Hugo, which slammed into the island in 1989 as a Category 3 storm.
By Monday night, authorities said they had restored power to more than 114,000 customers on the island of 3.2 million people.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi has warned it could take days before everyone has electricity.
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