In Puerto Rico, National Guard and Municipal Emergency Management personnel were helping with evacuations and water rescues in several communities of severely damaged Salinas in the south, Mayor Karilyn Bonilla Colón said. She urged residents to stay in their homes or shelters. The southern city of Ponce, the largest population center outside the San Juan metropolitan area, also experienced major flooding.
"Lands are saturated, rivers are overgrown, areas are flooded areas, and streets are still impassable," Bonilla Colón said. "Please stay safe and consider the first responders and rescue personnel who have done a titanic job to save lives."
Much as he had done five years ago in the wake of Hurricane Maria, helicopter pilot Carlos Benitez took to the sky Monday morning to survey the damage from Hurricane Fiona and identify Puerto Ricans in need of rescue.
“We saw more than 200 houses flooded all the way up to the roof, people on the top of the roof, on the balcony, requesting rescue,” said Benitez, 42, who notified rescue personnel of their locations. Others were on boats and jet skis, he said.
Benitez, who typically does charter flights, said he flew for seven hours and shared videos of what he saw on social media. He has been receiving messages from people begging him to check in on their loved ones.
“Even though you have a strong mind, even though you have a strong heart, that PTSD always comes back, just the same way that we have five years ago for Maria,” he said. “It’s traumatizing what we see.”
– Grace Hauck
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