A major part of Puerto Rico was left without power or proper drinking water in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona. The hurricane, that struck the island on Sunday, caused a lot of damage to the infrastructure as major roads were left submerged and a number of bridges collapsed. While the storm did lose its intensity over time, the people in the emergency shelters all around Puerto Rico are still reeling from the impact.
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According to AFP, around 800,000 homes in Puerto Rico have no access to clean drinking way after the filtration system in the island was severely impacted by the blackout. Some are still operational because of their use of solar generators but the number is not enough for the population.
There were also reports of patients suffering in hospitals due to the lack of power as the authorities confirmed the death of a man in a hospital in Arecibo. As a precaution, critically ill patients were mostly shifted from the main cancer hospital in San Juan after a reported generator failure.
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As of Monday, the officials confirmed that only 10 per cent of households were able to get their electricity back after the storm as displeasure grew towards Luma – the main electricity provider.
The Guardian reported that Fiona is the first major hurricane of this year but the infrastructure in Puerto Rico seemed extremely underprepared to deal with the catastrophe. United States President Joe Biden declared it a federal emergency, but the arrival of resources will be a time-taking affair.
