U.S. gov't declares public health emergency for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a public health emergency for Puerto Rico on Wednesday due to the flooding impact of Hurricane Fiona.

The HHS said it had deployed a 15-person health and medical task force and a 10-person incident management team to the U.S. territory.

Hurricane Fiona made landfall on Puerto Rico on Sunday as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing heavy rains, catastrophic damage, and an island-wide blackout.

Localized flash and urban flooding due to swells continue to affect the island, which has over 3 million residents.

More than 1 million customers in Puerto Rico were still without power as of Wednesday noon, according to poweroutage.us.

Hurricane Fiona, which has strengthened into a Category 4 storm, is approaching Bermuda, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.