On Sept. 18, Puerto Rico was struck by the worst hurricane it has experienced in almost a century. Hurricane Fiona completely devastated the territory of Puerto Rico, destroying its crops and infrastructure. 25 people have died and 3.3 million are in short supply of food, water and medicine.
While weaker than Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico about five years ago, Fiona proved much more devastating. The significant difference which played into Fiona being more destructive was the amount of flooding that Fiona brought compared to Maria, which was primarily just wind. With up to 30 inches of rain, highways, airport runways and buildings were completely flooded.
The power grid of Puerto Rico was also completely devastated, leaving 1 million people without electricity.
In terms of the help that will be offered to Puerto Rico, President Biden has promised to pay 100 percent of the costs of Puerto Rico’s recovery process in order to aid the government with the cleanup of debris, search and rescue, water restoration, shelter, and food for the next month. All this funding is also on top of the 1.3 billion dollars the Biden Administration funded Puerto Rico with last February in order to fight against future hurricanes like Fiona.
The total cost of damages in Puerto Rico is estimated to be $10 billion.
Canada was hit dramatically by this hurricane as well, proving to be one of the harshest storms the country has ever dealt with. Ravaging the east coast with winds up to 100 mph, Fiona blew houses into the water, tore powerlines and left 500,000 people without power. Three Canadians were killed as a result of Hurricane Fiona.
The economic implications of Fiona are intense as well. The estimates for what this will cost the Canadian government range anywhere from $2 to $4 billion.
Florida has also been hit by an awful hurricane as well. Hurricane Ian has left 21 people dead and 10,000 unaccounted for. President Biden has stated Ian, “Could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history.”
With winds up to 150 mph, Ian has forced 20,000 survivors to take shelter in government-provided shelters. Up to 2.5 million homes and businesses in Florida are without power.
The economic impact Ian has on Florida is expected to reach tens of billions of dollars.
