The Puerto Rico Department of Health reported that at least 25 deaths could be related to Hurricane Fiona, which for more than a week it hit the island.
Since last 18 September Fiona made her inclement passage through the United States in category 1, with record rainfall that generated landslides, street flooding and a severe blackout, in addition to failures in the water service, reported ABC7.
Although the electricity service has gradually been restored, more than 230,000 customers on the island were still without power Friday, according to PowerOutage.us.
Also, near 80,000 clients, about 6% of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, were without water on Friday, according to the aforementioned portal.
The Department of Health of Puerto Rico specified this Friday that up to 11 deaths attributable to Fiona have been confirmed; however, at least 14 cases are still under investigation. Officially one of the confirmed deaths occurred as a direct result of Fiona, while the others 10 were indirectly related, CNN reported.
The fatalities from Hurricane Fiona include a 58 year-old man who was dragged by the river La Plata in the municipality of Comerío, while a man aged 70 died in a fire after trying to fill his generator with gasoline in Arecibo, according to officials.
Fiona has been the first hurricane to make landfall in Puerto Rico after in September 2017, since the island was hit by Hurricane Maria, which left thousands dead, in addition to a severe blackout that lasted months and left a large part of the population without service.
The government of Puerto Rico specified that after the passage of Maria, almost 3,000 people passed away, making it one of the deadliest hurricanes in years.
“While we see the devastating images of Florida, I want to be clear to the people of Puerto Rico: we are not leaving,” said President Joe Biden from the headquarters from FEMA on Thursday.