Puerto Rico under hurricane warning as Fiona approaches

HAVANA >> Tropical Storm Fiona was expected to become a hurricane as it neared Puerto Rico on Saturday, threatening to dump up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain as people braced for potential landslides, severe flooding and power outages.

The storm previously battered various eastern Caribbean islands, with one death reported in the French territory of Guadeloupe. Regional prefect Alexandre Rochatte told reporters Saturday that the body was found on the side of a road after floods washed away a home in the capital of Basse-Terre. More than 20 other people were rescued amid heavy wind and rain that left 13,000 customers without power.

Fiona was located 90 miles (145 kilometers) southsoutheast of St. Croix Saturday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph). It was moving west at 8 mph (13 kph) on a path forecast to pass near or over Puerto Rico on Sunday night. Fiona was expected to become a hurricane while moving near Puerto Rico.

“We are already starting to feel its effects,” said Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi. “We should not underestimate this storm.”

He said the heavy rains anticipated are dangerous because the island's soil is already saturated. Meanwhile, many Puerto Ricans worried about serious power outages since the reconstruction of the island's power grid razed by Hurricane Maria in 2017 only recently began. The grid remains fragile and power outages occur daily, with some 80,000 customers already in the dark on Saturday.

Fiona is expected to swipe past the Dominican Republic on Sunday as a potential hurricane and Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands on Monday and Tuesday with the threat of extreme rain.

Forecaster issued a hurricane watch for the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as the southern coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Engaño westward to Cabo Caucedo and for the northern coast from Cabo Engaño westward to Puerto Plata.

In Puerto Rico, authorities opened shelters and closed public beaches, casinos, theaters and museums as they urged people to remain indoors. Officials also transferred hundreds of endangered Puerto Rican parrots to their shelter.