Hurricane Fiona Leaves Puerto Rico Without Power 5 Years After Hurricane Maria
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Hurricane Fiona left Puerto Rico's 3.2 million residents without power on Sunday — almost exactly five years after Hurricane Maria knocked out much of the U.S. territory's power grid for months.
About 1,000 people have been rescued amid ongoing mudslides and flooding on the island; at least one person has died. Much of the island remained without power on Monday; on Sunday, Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said energy providers were working to restore power, and President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration to provide federal aid to the island.
While Maria was a Category 4 storm, Fiona has so far only reached Category 1. However, some experts have said Puerto Rico’s power grid remained “fragile” years after Maria. On Monday, Hurricane Fiona moved on to the Dominican Republic.
Coverage was widespread but less prominently featured in right-rated outlets on Monday; while the outages remained top stories for outlets like The Washington Post (Lean Left bias) and The Wall Street Journal (Center bias), coverage dropped “below the fold” in outlets like Fox News (Right bias) and The Daily Wire (Right bias). Headlines across the spectrum often used the quoted word “catastrophic” to describe the damage.
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From the Left
Puerto Rico is without electricity as Hurricane Fiona pummels the island
Hurricane Fiona made landfall in southwestern Puerto Rico on Sunday afternoon, as the entire island continues to reel from the knockout of its electricity grid.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said the damage on the island is "catastrophic in many areas," calling it a "very delicate and sad situation." Heavy rainfall and catastrophic flooding was continuing across the island Sunday evening, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The Category 1 hurricane was predicted to produce dangerous landslides and heavy flooding on an already storm-battered island.
From the Left
Hurricane Fiona brings "catastrophic" flooding, power outages to Puerto Rico 
An intensifying Hurricane Fiona is bringing heavy rains and high winds to Puerto Rico, knocking out power to the entire island.
The latest: The eye of Fiona was approaching the coast of the Dominican Republic, near the town of Punta Cana, as heavy rainfall and "catastrophic flooding" continued across much of Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Center tweeted early Monday.
From the Right
Hurricane Fiona Knocks Out Puerto Rico Power Grid
Hurricane Fiona landed on Puerto Rico Sunday bringing with it strong wind gusts and rain that knocked out power for the whole island.
Luma, the private consortium that manages Puerto Rico’s electrical transmission and distribution system, said the situation on the island was “extremely dangerous and impeding our ability to evaluate the entire situation,” the Washington Post reported. The company added it could take several days to restore power and asked customers for “patience,” according to the Post.
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