The eastern coast of the Dominican Republic was hit by a Category 1 storm on Monday.
The NHC warned that the storm would bring "torrential rains and mud slides" to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
The storm slammed into the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico at about 3:20 p.m. The NHC predicted that the storm would dump up to 18 inches of rain on the island, with some areas getting up to 30 inches.
A bridge in the central mountain town of Utuado was destroyed and hundreds of people were evacuated as the floods quickly rose, according to The Associated Press. According to the website Power Outage.us, Puerto Rico was plunged into a black out.
What to expect and how long it will last are related.
Luma, the energy company that operates and manages Puerto Rico's electric power transmission and distribution system, wrote on its website that there have been several transmission line outages.
The New York Times reported that Luma had restored power to 100,000 customers. The Luma website states that it could take several days for full power to be restored.
Even as the storm moves west, the outer bands are expected to keep dropping rain on Puerto Rico. According to the NHC, the Hurricane made landfall in the Dominican Republic early Monday morning with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph.
The NHC warned that "life threatening flash and urban flooding is likely for eastern portions of the Dominican Republic." The storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels along the Dominican Republic's immediate coastline.
The NHC predicts thatFiona will come into the southwestern Atlantic by Monday afternoon. The storm is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane by Wednesday.
It was originally published on Live Science
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