Hurricane Fiona leaves one dead and more than 12,000 displaced in the Dominican Republic and catastrophic damage in Puerto Rico

• Hurricane Fiona General blackout and catastrophic damage in Puerto Rico

Hurricane

on Monday

due to flooding and damage to homes in

, according to authorities, after causing damage after it caused "catastrophic" damage in Puerto Rico.

Rainfall and strong winds have forced 12,485 people to move to "safe areas" since early Monday morning, 1,047 of them to state shelters, explained Major General

, director of

(

), when giving a bulletin to the press confirming the death of a person in

, in the north of the country.

The deceased man was cutting a tree in his house for prevention.

In several sectors there are interruptions of electricity and water services.

The hurricane has climbed to

of the five on the

, according to the latest report from

Center (NHC for its acronym in English).

The agency estimates that

will continue to strengthen and the rains will continue with possible new "catastrophic" floods this Tuesday, both in

and in the eastern

.

is forecast to

pass near the British

and

.

The center of the hurricane, however, is already outside Dominican territory, so the COE has reduced the

status to 7 provinces out of the 32 in the country.

The red alert reached 18 of these regions during Monday.

Punta Cana, catastrophic area

President

declared

three eastern provinces

- to which the tourist

belongs -,

and

.

The residents of the poor neighborhoods of this last region, one of the areas on alert for the hurricane, were walking this Monday between their wooden houses with water up to their ankles, AFP journalists have been able to verify.

Flooded streets, blocked roads and power poles have also left

in

,

and

, in

.

"It happened very quickly," says

, in charge of taking care of the Puntacanera beach of

, who regrets the destroyed businesses.

The local press reports floods in other coastal towns such as

.

The Dominican Republic, with 10.5 million inhabitants, suspended the working day on Monday due to the rains, which will continue until at least Thursday according to projections from the

(

).

Puerto Rico, in a state of emergency

Fiona caused serious damage on Sunday in Puerto Rico, with torrential rains that left the island without electricity and that led President

to declare a

for this US territory, a measure that allows federal funds to be released for relief work.

Fiona also caused serious damage by spending Friday night IN

, where a man was swept away with his house by a rising river.

The governor of

,

, warned this Monday at a press conference that the rain will continue to hit the island for at least two more days, and asked the population to stay in their homes or in shelters.

"We are going through a tough time, but our people are strong," the official encouraged.

After

caused a general blackout in

on Sunday , with 3.1 million inhabitants, the electricity grid has barely been able to be restored for some 100,000 users, the company in charge of electricity distribution reports on Twitter.

More than 800,000 people, the authorities report, have also been left without drinking water service.

"We are without light and without water," says

, an anesthetist at the Mennonite hospital

.

"The hospital is operating with a generator. Only emergencies are being treated."

The Puerto Rican government has suspended classes and the work day, except in the cases of workers in critical positions or emergency services.

With the passage of

, which caused almost 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico in 2017, the island was cut off from communication and large areas were without electricity for months.

The warming of the ocean surface, according to experts, increases the frequency of the most virulent hurricanes, with stronger winds and more intense rains.

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