Five years after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, killing thousands and triggering one of the largest blackouts in U.S. history, the island is now recovering after extreme rainfall and winds from Hurricane Fiona.
During Maria, Puerto Rico saw much more rainfall. Most of the island experienced major deluges. Some of the heaviest precipitation was concentrated in the mountainous areas in the island’s center, where it is most susceptible to landslides. Maria was also a faster moving storm, dropping a massive amount of rain in a 48-hour period.
Fiona was a Category 1 storm with 85 mph winds when it made landfall at Punta Tocon, in the southwest of the island after the center of the storm cut a path below the island. After passing Puerto Rico, the hurricane strengthened to a Category 3, its maximum sustained wind speeds increasing to 115 mph, the National Hurricane Center said early Tuesday.
Five years ago today, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico.
— Dr. Kim Wood (@DrKimWood) September 20, 2022
Two days ago, Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico.
This animation shows each storm via GOES ABI infrared imagery starting about 10 hours prior to landfall.
Non-comprehensive list of ways to help: https://t.co/LMR4zguB2f pic.twitter.com/ypJGcn7r6h
In 2017 Maria slammed ashore near Yabucoa as a Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds, and the center of the storm completely crossed through the island. It was the first Category 4 storm to directly strike the island since 1932.
W. Craig Fugate, FEMA’s administrator during the Obama administration, said Maria and this week’s Hurricane Fiona are nonetheless quite distinct: Maria brought punishing winds that caused destruction across the entire island, while Fiona has triggered floods that have been devastating but appear to be more concentrated.
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Puerto Rico’s battered infrastructure — which was still being rebuilt after Maria — could make recovery from Fiona more difficult.
About this story
Satellite images from NASA.
Tim Meko contributed to this report.