One dead as Hurricane Fiona pounds the Dominican Republic with strong winds and rain

Hurricane Fiona pounded the Dominican Republic on Monday with heavy rains and winds nearing 90 miles per hour that ripped roofs, windows and doors from dwellings and downed trees and electric poles in the eastern side of the country.

At least one person was killed after he was hit by debris, according to local media accounts. Fiona skirted most of the Dominican northern coast and by the middle of the afternoon was heading towards the Turks and Caicos Islands, gaining strength in the process.

Fiona hit the Caribbean nation early Monday after causing “catastrophic damages” in Puerto Rico, where it left at least three dead and millions without power after flooding towns and rivers with as much as 30 inches of rain.

But damages in the Dominican Republic were far less severe than the ones suffered in Puerto Rico, where record rains inundated towns and flooded rivers, causing severe infrastructure damages.

As of late morning, Dominican officials reported that just over 50 homes had been affected and that 786 people had been evacuated to safer areas.

Fiona first touched land in the Dominican Republic Monday morning as a Category One hurricane, according to the country’s Emergency Operations Center.

Center officials placed most of the country’s east and northeast provinces under red alert, the highest weather warning, affecting 15 provinces, and issued yellow alerts for another 16 provinces.

Dominican officials also reported that almost 60 aqueducts were knocked out by the storm, leaving close to a million people without water. A number of towns on the eastern part of the country were also left without power as high winds swept through trees and electrical poles.

Officials later said that they had received reports of around 11,000 households without electricity.

The powerful winds also left at least one casualty. According to local media reports, a 72-year-old man was killed after he was struck by a tree he was attempting to trim outside his house despite the rain and strong winds. The incident took place in the small northern town of Matancitas, in the province of Nagua, which is one of the areas hardest hit by the hurricane.