The video was captured by NASA’s Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG), an algorithm that focuses on precipitation data.
NASA said it was using the IMERG algorithm “in near real-time” to estimate how much rain fell in Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic as the hurricane passed through.
Guadeloupe received an estimated 12 to 18 inches of rainfall, NASA said. Parts of Puerto Rico received more than 20 inches of rain, the agency said.
The video NASA shared is 20 seconds long. Rainfall is shown by splashes of color that move across a map of the impacted area.
The video captures IMERG precipitation estimates from September 14 through September 20, with the rate of rainfall shown in blue and yellow over cloud data, which NASA said appears in white or gray. Total rainfall is shown in purple and green. A legend beneath the images shows what the color ranges mean in relation to rainfall rates and totals.
At least four people have died in Puerto Rico due to the storm, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official said according to ABC News and the Washington Post.
FEMA did not disclose how those people died.
During a news conference Tuesday, FEMA’s National Spanish Spokesperson Daniel Llargues said the conditions “remain delicate.”
In addition to those deaths reported by FEMA, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said during a press conference that at least two more people died in a shelter due to natural causes. Those deaths have not been labeled as storm-related, Pierluisi said.
The Associated Press reported that a 70-year-old man was killed when he tried to fill a generator with gasoline while it was running during the blackout, setting it on fire. A spokesperson for Pierluisi told CNN that a 58-year-old man died when he was swept away by the overflowing La Plata River behind his home.
In the Dominican Republic, officials told reporters that a man died when a tree fell on him during the storm.
The agency said on Twitter it is “committed to helping bolster response & recovery efforts alongside the Government of Puerto Rico.”
Five Incident Management Teams will travel to the island, as will two Urban Search and Rescue Teams, FEMA said in a Tuesday news release. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will also be making a trip to the island to assess the damage and Puerto Rico’s needs for further assistance.
The FEMA staff members traveling to Puerto Rico are expected to arrive in the coming days, the agency said. Agency staff will be directed to “each of the impacted communities” struggling in the wake of the hurricane. Boosting staff volume and other resources at FEMA’s regional field offices is among the list of ways the agency said it is helping.
“Our partnership with the Government of Puerto Rico has never been stronger and we remain committed to helping them respond to and recover from Hurricane Fiona,” Criswell said in the release.
Criswell spoke with Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi about the island’s needs on Monday, the agency said.
After billions of federal dollars were spend to modernize and strengthen the island’s electrical grid after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Attorney General Letitia James said residents continue to endure frequent outages and high electrical rates.
She said these issues were exacerbated by the impact of Hurricane Fiona.
“While I fully support relief efforts underway to help Puerto Rico, I am convinced that we need long-term structural support for the island, not just band aids that take us from one crisis to the next,” James said in a statement.
James said Puerto Ricans rely on the power grid and electrical supply for “basic necessities and are “rightly” concerned about LUMA’s failures.
“I am calling for a federal investigation into LUMA and for critical upgrades and system improvements so that Puerto Ricans are never again left in the dark,” she said. “Together, we must continue to fight for long-term fixes to stabilize and strengthen Puerto Rico and stand in solitary with our brothers and sisters on the island.”
James sent a letter to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Richard Glick.
She urges them to review the situation and “ensure LUMA Energy is held accountable for providing safe, reliable, and affordable electric service to the people of Puerto Rico.”
This comes as the state of New York announced it will send support to the island as part of recovery efforts.
Governor Kathy Hochul said law enforcement officers, including 50 New York State Police Department troopers were sent to Puerto Rico this week. She said the New York Power Authority said it is prepared to assist in restoring the power grid and other corporate and community partners will coordinate water and supplies donations.
“Most importantly, though, New York will be there for the long-term recovery, just as we were following Maria,” she said in a tweet. “We stand ready to help them not only recover, but also rebuild.”
During a news conference Tuesday, Pierluisi said Biden confirmed a federal disaster assistance order would be activated under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“Biden promised to give our request expedited attention,” Pierluisi said, adding that he did not want to wait more days before asking for federal help. “Our government is completely activated.”
Pierluisi and Biden spoke Monday about the catastrophic damage Hurricane Fiona is bringing to Puerto Rico.
Biden described the surge of Federal support to the island that will join the more than 300 federal personnel are already working on response and recovery efforts, the White House said in a readout of the call.
The president declared an emergency in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico over the weekend and directed FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief.
As damage assessments are conducted in the coming days, Biden said that number of support personnel will “increase substantially.”
“The President said that he will ensure that the Federal team remains on the job to get it done, especially given that Puerto Rico is still recovering from the damage of Hurricane Maria five years ago this week,” the White House said. “Governor Pierluisi expressed his appreciation for the partnership and support that he is receiving already from the Biden Administration.”
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will travel to Puerto Rico tomorrow to meet with State and local officials and assess urgent needs that need to be addressed.
NBC News reporter Gabe Gutierrez captured a video showing a long line of cars queuing up to get fuel.
Weather Nation correspondent Brett Adair reported Monday that he had a difficult time finding fuel when the entire island was without power.
There were very few fuel stations in Salinas, PR with generators, forcing residents to wait to get gas.
One video shared with The Weather Channel showed the wind was powerful enough in Puerto Rico to rip the roof of a home.
The video appeared to have been recorded in another structure situated across the street. As the camera focused on the impacted home, the edges of the roof could be seen flapping in the wind before the entire roof lifted off the house and was blown away.
The Weather Channel posted the video on its website on Tuesday. The video was attributed to a Twitter user and dated September 18.
Other videos shared on social media documented the strength of the storm winds in Turks and Caicos and the extent of the flooding in Puerto Rico as the storm moved through.
One video shared by Weather Nation focused on how loud the winds were as Hurricane Fiona made its way past Turks and Caicos.
Another video shared by reporter Jordan Hall showed floodwater racing across Puerto Rico.
Mass flooding across the island pushed its residents to seek shelter upon the arrival of what is now the first major storm of the hurricane season.
Puerto Rico was also hit by mass flooding five years ago during Hurricane Maria, a storm that resulted in the deaths of almost 3,000 people. Cruz told the Associated Press that some parts of the island that flooded during Hurricane Fiona had not flooded during the storm five years ago.
In Cayey, a mountain town in central Puerto Rico, Cruz said nearby rivers “broke their banks and blanketed communities.” Among those communities was a retirement home, from which 19 residents were rescued. A total of 670 residents across Puerto Rico had been rescued by Tuesday afternoon, Cruz told the AP.
Rescue efforts encountered resistance at first, Cruz said, but the threat posed by the storm convinced many to evacuate. Rescuers were reportedly using kayaks, boats and digging equipment to move people to safety.
While some power has been restored, an estimated 80 percent of the island remains without power Tuesday.
Puerto Rican power company LUMA Energy reports about 1.17 million customers still do not have power, according to PowerOutage.us. The figures could be higher, as the website notes there is limited available information.
“Restoration is underway after an island wide blackout caused by hurricane Fiona,” PowerOutage.us said on its website. “Updates, exact numbers, and restoration timelines are not available.”
On Monday, LUMA said high winds and heavy rainfall have disrupted transmission lines, leading to “a blackout on all the island.”
“Current weather conditions are extremely dangerous and are hindering our capacity to evaluate the complete situation,” the company said.
It may take several days to fully restore power on the island.
The hurricane hit Turks and Caicos as a Category 3 storm on Tuesday after knocking out power and flooding Puerto Rico. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warns that water levels on Turks and Caicos could rise between five and eight feet above normal.
Fiona could pass Bermuda late Thursday or early Friday, possibly as a Category 4 hurricane, according to FOX Weather.
