As the storm approaches Puerto Rico, Fiona intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.

As the storm approaches Puerto Rico, Fiona intensifies into a Category 1 hurricane.

According to the latest National Hurricane Center report, Fiona has intensified into a Category 1 hurricane, with sustained winds of 80 mph and gusts of up to 100 mph as it churns in the Caribbean approximately 50 miles south of Puerto Rico, threatening floods and mudslides.

The effects of the storm have already been felt: According to the vice president of the territory's environmental agency, at least one fatality has been recorded in Basse-Terre in the French territory of Guadeloupe, which has been ravaged by flooding. And in Puerto Rico, where more than 310,000 people remained without power as of 10:45 a.m. ET Sunday, According to PowerOutage.us, flash flooding has already occurred, as the National Weather Service reported.

According to the hurricane center, the third storm of the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season is coming down on Puerto Rico south of Ponce. The US Virgin Islands and parts of Puerto Rico are already experiencing heavy rain and tropical-storm-force winds.

"Additional intensification is expected over the following 48 hours as Fiona approaches Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the southwestern Atlantic," the hurricane center warned. "Hurricane conditions are forecast for Puerto Rico today, as well as sections of the eastern Dominican Republic tonight and Monday."

According to the current estimate, Fiona's core will approach Sunday morning before crossing close to or over southern Puerto Rico. in the late afternoon or early evening

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for southern and eastern Puerto Rico sections Rico, including Ponce and Yabucoa, until at least mid-afternoon Sunday, adding that flooding had begun after 1 to 2 inches of rain had already fallen.

The hurricane center predicts 12 to 16 inches of rain throughout a large swath of Puerto Rico, with most of the rain falling on Sunday, while isolated places in southern and eastern Puerto Rico could experience up to 25 inches.

The Dominican Republic's northern and eastern regions are also expected to receive 4 to 8 inches of rain, with isolated totals of up to 12 inches likely.

"These rains will cause dangerous flash floods and urban flooding." There will be mudslides and landslides in parts of higher terrain over Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic," the storm center said.

Storm surge is another hazard, with sea levels rising by 1 to 3 feet over average on Puerto Rico's southern coast and in the Dominican Republic, where onshore winds are highest.

A hurricane warning was issued for Puerto Rico, including the islands of Vieques and Culebra, and was subsequently increased to cover the eastern Dominican Republic from Cabo Caucedo to Cabo Frances Viejo. The United States Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic's northern coast, from Cabo Frances Viejo west to Puerto Plata, are under hurricane watch on Sunday morning. are feasible during the next 48 hours

President Joe Biden issued an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico on Sunday morning, releasing government resources, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for emergency response and disaster recovery activities.

The danger will not go away once the hurricane has passed between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic: The storm is expected to grow more as it moves east of the Bahamas, where the government has issued a tropical storm warning for the southeastern Bahamas and a tropical storm warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

By late Monday or early Tuesday, tropical storm conditions are probable in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas.