Hurricane Fiona intensifies to a Category 4 storm

Hurricane Fiona has intensified to a Category 4 storm as it makes its way to Bermuda and Canada.

This follows the storm carving a destructive path through the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Here, wind gusts of up to 215 km per hour were recorded. The conditions triggered flash flooding and landslides.

So far, it has left at least eight people dead. Thousands of residents in affected areas have been left without access to basic services.

In Puerto Rico, 40 per cent of the island’s 3.3 million residents are still without power as rebuilding begins.

For many of these residents, the memory of Hurricane Maria back in just 2017 is still so real. 3,000 people died and the island was without power for a week following this storm.

Eric Blake is the acting branch chief for the NHC in Miami. He said Bermuda will see high surf, storm surges, heavy rainfall and powerful winds. This will be the case even if it keeps on its current path and passes to the west of the island.

It’s expected the storm will be at its worst by late Thursday.

“Hopefully, the core of the storm will stay west, but it could still jog east and hit Bermuda,” Blake said.

Fiona could reach Canada’s Atlantic coast by Friday.

Hurricane Fiona wreaks havoc across multiple Islands, as Bermuda and Colorado brace for impact

A powerful category 3 storm has hit Turks and Caicos Islands, heavy rainfall and strong life-threatening flooding has caused havoc throughout the streets of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

The gust has killed four people in Puerto Rico and is quickly spreading to other areas with heavy torrential rain and winds.

Authorities are urging people to evacuate these areas as the flood levels are rising and the forceful winds have damaged homes, cars and buildings.

The storm has left homes without water and electricity and there are now concerns that the storm will increase to a category 4 as it gets close to the Bermuda and Canada over the coming days.

Many residents are in disbelief of how intense the downpour was and are struggling to pick up the debris and destruction.

A Category 4 storm has “catastrophic” wind speeds and a Category 5 hurricane has wind speeds of between 252kmh.

The United Nations General Assembly is gathering in person for the first time in three years

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used his address to highlight the ongoing climate crisis and the war in Ukraine.

He says the world must end its “suicidal war against nature” adding this “must be the first priority of every government and multilateral organisation”.

The Secretary-General is calling for global greenhouse gas emissions to be slashed by 45% by 20-30 if we want to have “any hope of reaching net zero by 2050.”

His comments follow Europe’s worst heatwave since the Middle Ages, as well as droughts in China, the United States and beyond.

He pointed out that G20 countries are responsible for 80 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, but the poorest nations are bearing its most brutal impacts.