As Puerto Rico and Canada Recover From Hurricane Fiona, A New Storm Takes Shape

The late summer-early fall hurricane season has already brought several major storms. They're causing huge amounts of damage and leaving millions without power. Multiple countries have been affected. 

Hurricane Fiona is now a post-tropical cyclone. It moved off the coast of Canada on Sunday. Parts of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland were hit. The storm left 415,000 Canadian homes without power. Trees were knocked down, and some homes were washed out to sea.

"This is hands down the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my life," said a journalist in Newfoundland. "There is an apartment building that's literally gone. There are entire streets that are gone."

Fiona is the same storm that hit Puerto Rico early last week. It knocked out the island’s power grid. Some areas got up to 30 inches of rain. President Biden declared Fiona’s impact a major disaster. That unlocked funds and resources for Puerto Rico. Recovery efforts have been slow, though. Roads, water supplies, and ports were already weakened by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

In the Gulf of Mexico, forecasters are tracking Tropical Storm Ian. The storm has quickly grown as it moves over warm water. It is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane (sustained winds over 111 mph) by early Tuesday. Ian’s projected path has it making landfall in Florida on Thursday or Friday. So, Governor Ron DeSantis has acted early and issued a state of emergency for the state.

Photo from Reuters.