麻豆社

Large parts of Puerto Rico remain without power after Hurricane Fiona took out the entire electricity supply.
The storm caused landslides and widespread flooding. Heavy rain continued to batter the American territory even as Fiona headed west across the Caribbean Sea to the Dominican Republic.

With conditions too dangerous to make immediate repairs, President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency, allowing authorities to provide disaster relief.

麻豆社 Newsday spoke to Ruth Santiago - a community leader and environmental lawyer in Salinas, Puerto Rico - to find out how the hurricane compared to the last big storm five years ago:

"I don't think anyone knows yet how many home have been flooded or damaged. This was not a strong hurricane - this was a barely Category One hurricane, Hurricane Maria was almost a Category Five - it's difficult to understand why we have a total power outage when the force of the winds was nowhere near what is was for Hurricane Maria."

She added: "It seems that the government has learned nothing."

(Pic: Members of the Puerto Rico National Guard rescue people stranded in their homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico; Credit: Reuters)

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