The Countdown: Relief efforts mobilize as Hurricane Fiona wreaks havoc in the Atlantic
NEW YORK (WABC) -- In this edition of 'The Countdown,' we continue to follow Fiona, the first major hurricane of this year's Atlantic hurricane season.
The storm has already cut through the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and knocked out power to the vast majority of its 3.1 million people.
Another 1 million people in the Dominican Republic are also without power and running water.
The storm intensified to a Category 3 storm on Tuesday morning, five years to the day that Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico.
Eyewitness News reporter Lauren Glassberg has more on the storm's impact. We also highlight some of the local relief efforts that are underway, including in cities like Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
Mayor Helmin Caba joined the show with more on the efforts there.
Here are the other headlines from Tuesday's show:
Climate Week
This week is 'climate week' in New York City. Andrew Kruczkiewicz with the Columbia Climate School International Research Institute.
NYC lifting COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private sector
New York City is lifting its private sector COVID-19 vaccine mandate on November 1, Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday. It will now be up to individual business owners to decide if they want to maintain a vaccine requirement.
You can watch 'The Countdown' live Monday-Friday at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7NY.com or our ABC7NY app on Roku, FireTV, Apple TV and Android TV.
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