Power out in Puerto Rico, damage in several areas from Fiona

Landslides, blocked roads, fallen trees and power lines, as well as a collapsed bridge in the town of Utuado in the central mountainous region were among the destruction already levied by Fiona, Governor Pedro Pierluisi told an evening press conference.

In addition, the entire territory of more than three million people lost power as the hurricane neared, with Pierluisi reporting the electrical system out of service.

Although the hurricane's eye is now off the territory's coast, destructive rain and devastating flash floods are expected to buffet the islands overnight before dealing a blow to the Dominican Republic on Monday.

Fiona will go down as a "catastrophic event due to the impacts of flooding" in Puerto Rico's central mountainous region, east and south, Pierluisi tweeted, adding that 9-13 inches (23-33 centimeters) of rain had fallen in just five hours.

"Rainfall amounts will produce catastrophic life-threatening flash floods and urban flooding across Puerto Rico and portions of the eastern Dominican Republic, along with mudslides and landslides in areas of higher terrain," the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The hurricane has also left some 196,000 people without drinking water as a result of power outages and flooded rivers, officials said.

Ahead of Fiona's arrival in the Dominican Republic, President Luis Abinader suspended work in the public and private sectors for Monday.

It had made landfall in Puerto Rico Sunday afternoon as a Category One hurricane packing sustained winds of 85 miles (140 kilometers) per hour, at the lowest end of the five-tier Saffier-Simpson scale.

Fiona is expected to grow stronger, turning into a "major hurricane" before it heads north into the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, according to the NHC.