1:01
The rain saturated areas in the southeastern part of Puerto Rico, along with the mountainous areas, where potential mudslides could cause the most damage.
Prior to landfall, Pierluisi said Puerto Rico was prepared as it could be, with enough resources and manpower in place to respond -- adding that the island learned its lessons from the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
\"We're much in a much better position than we were five years ago,\" he said.
The storm system is now over open water as it continues to head northward, northeast of Turks and Caicos and just west of Bermuda. Fiona is expected to track near Bermuda, but forecasts show the island will not see a direct hit. The storm system will continue to gradually strengthen in the coming days as it moves north and then northeast this week.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/fiona-track-abc-mo-20220921_1663773127337_hpEmbed_16x9_384.jpg\")
The Dominican Republic was expected to receive up to 10 inches of rain and some regions in Turks and Caicos expected to see 8 inches of rain.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/hurricane-fiona-puerto-rico-01-gty-llr-220918_1663532439261_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Winds could be as strong as 140 mph as Fiona passes near Bermuda, bringing even higher gusts, heavy rain and storm surge. The latest model shows the worst of the storm will pass just west of Bermuda, but Fiona is powerful and large enough that at least tropical storm force winds will be felt on the island.
Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin Thursday morning, just after sunset, while hurricane conditions are possible late Thursday into early Friday, depending on how closely Fiona passes by the island.
The U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory for Bermuda due to the approaching storm.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/fiona-palms_hpEmbed_20220919-123022_20x13_384.jpg\")
While it won't make landfall in the U.S., the hurricane will affect the entire East Coast with huge waves, rip currents and coastal flooding from Florida to Maine as it moves northward. Fiona is expected to head north all the way to Canada. It will begin to transition to a post-tropical storm as it heads north.
Fiona's wind field is expected to continue expanding as the storm gains latitude and eventually impacts coastal Canada as a post-tropical low. The storm is forecast to make landfall in Nova Scotia on Saturday morning, after losing its tropical characteristics. However, a widespread area of powerful, gusty winds will span across Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and New Brunswick on Saturday morning.
U.S. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico on Sunday, which allows federal agencies to coordinate all relief efforts.
Biden's decision has the \"purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in all 78 municipalities in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,\" the White House said in a statement.
FEMA Administrator Deanna Criswell arrived in Puerto Rico on Tuesday to coordinate the emergency response, the White House said. \"Hundreds\" of federal responders are already on the island, including members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
While still a tropical storm, the system battered other Caribbean islands. One person died in the French territory of Guadeloupe, according to The Associated Press. More than 20 others were rescued amid heavy wind and rain according to the AP.
Fiona's center moved through the island of Guadeloupe on Friday night, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds across the Leeward Islands.
The island's emergency management office in Puerto Rico even had a blackout during its Saturday morning press conference. Pierluisi reiterated during that press briefing Saturday evening that the fear is that heavy rains will produce mudslides.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/hurricane-fiona-puerto-rico-mudslide-ap-jt-220919_1663599499899_hpEmbed_3x2_384.jpg\")
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/fiona-collapse_hpEmbed_20220919-122021_3x2_384.jpg\")
LUMA Energy's Crisis Management Manager Abner Gomez told reporters over the weekend the energy distributor was working to prevent a repeat of Hurricane Maria's aftermath.
\"We are going to make sure [a widespread outage] will not happen because we have the crews,\" he said. \"There will be damage. There will be outages and we will be ready to respond.\"
ABC News' Daniel Amarante, Rachel DeLima, Kenton Gewecke, Max Golembo, Daniel Peck and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
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