2 dead as Hurricane Fiona leaves much of Puerto Rico without power
San Juan, Puerto Rico — At least two people are dead as much of Puerto Rico remains without power after Hurricane Fiona battered the island for the second straight day with torrential rains and flash flooding.
Along Puerto Rico's southern coast, Hurricane Fiona dumped as much as 25 inches of rain and brought winds up to 91 miles per hour. Brown flood water flowed in all directions, swallowing everything in its path in Santa Isabel.
In the central part of the island in Utuado, a new metal bridge built just four years ago after Hurricane Maria was swept away like a twig. Video showed neighbors with a boat and some rope trying desperately to save a family trapped in high water in Cayey.
Catastrophic floods and mudslides downed trees and power lines in Toa Baja in the north, where people stood on cars and on the second story of their homes.
Nearly the entire island remains in the dark, with 1.3 million people without power and almost 840,000 with no running water.
In the western town of Anasco, Norma Rivera is determined to stay in the place where she grew up.
"I'm not leaving," she said. "We're going to make it work even if we got to live in tents."
Lourdes, a longtime resident who did not give her last name, rode out the storm. Her community has barely recovered since Hurricane Maria in 2017.
"They worked so hard for their things," she said, "and now they're losing it again."