SEPTEMBER 20, 2022 – The Puerto Rico National Guard is supporting the government response to Hurricane Fiona, which knocked out power to the entire island and caused severe flooding.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi activated the Guard as the hurricane approached the island.
The Puerto Rico National Guard began prepositioning Soldiers and heavy equipment at nine points across the island Friday to address emergencies and clear roads as necessary.
Guard members with the 125th Military Police Battalion rescued a man in Ponce who was swept away by a flash flood when he apparently went out to try to get gasoline.
He was clinging to a concrete beam near Mercedita Airport in southern Puerto Rico, where floodwaters were as high as six feet.
Guard members rescued people in Ponce, Salinas, Cayey, Toa Baja, and Añasco, among other municipalities.
Heavy rain continued to fall in the wake of the hurricane Monday and will “produce life-threatening and catastrophic flooding along with mudslides and landslides across Puerto Rico,” a National Hurricane Center advisory warned.
The center forecast an additional 4 to 8 inches of rain in southern Puerto Rico Monday, with a local maximum of 15 inches.
Total rainfall from the storm was projected to be 12 to 20 inches, with over 30 inches in some areas.
Northern Puerto Rico was expected to get an additional 1 to 4 inches of rain Monday, with as much as 6 inches in some locations.
Hurricane-force winds struck southwest Puerto Rico over the weekend. Fiona then headed for the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos.
A tropical storm warning was in effect Monday morning for Puerto Rico, including Vieques and Culebra.
By Puerto Rico National Guard