PHOTOS: Hurricane Fiona marches through the Caribbean

LOÍZA, Puerto Rico —

Nelson Cirino was sleeping when the roof was blown off his home by Hurricane Fiona in Loiza, Puerto Rico. “I had to run downstairs,” he said.

The storm has been blamed for directly causing at least four deaths in its march through the Caribbean, where winds and torrential rain in Puerto Rico left a majority of people on the U.S. territory without power or running water.

Historic flooding submerged homes in Puerto Rico where people trapped inside had to be rescued; residents took shelter at schools with their pets, drivers navigated blacked out streets and crops were flattened.

In the Dominican Republic, residents waded through flood waters surrounding their homes and worked to clear the mud-filled streets outside their doorsteps, salvaging and cleaning what they could of their homes and belongings.

Fiona strengthened into a Category 4 storm Wednesday after devastating Puerto Rico, lashing the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands and was forecast to squeeze past Bermuda later this week.

AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo

Nelson Cirino secures the windows of his home as the winds of Hurricane Fiona blow in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022.

AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo

Nelson Cirino's home stands with its roof torn off by the winds of Hurricane Fiona in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022.

AP Photo/Stephanie Rojas

A home is submerged in floodwaters caused by Hurricane Fiona in Cayey, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. According to authorities three people were inside the home and were reported to have been rescued.

AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo

Residents affected by Hurricane Fiona rest at a school being used as a storm shelter in Salinas, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.

AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez

Residents replace a home's roof that was torn off by Hurricane Fiona in the low-income neighborhood of Kosovo in Veron de Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.

AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo

A parking lot is flooded due to Hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.

AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez

Broken umbrellas lay on the beach, felled by Hurricane Fiona in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.

AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo

Homes are flooded on Salinas Beach after the passing of Hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.

AP Photo/Stephanie Rojas

Mud covers the floor of a home flooded by Hurricane Fiona in Cayey, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. Fiona hit Puerto Rico’s southwest corner on Sunday.

AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez

Locals clear mud brought by Hurricane Fiona in the Los Sotos neighborhood of Higuey, Dominican Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022.

AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez

Nicasio Gil walks through the stagnant water left by the swollen Duey river, caused by Hurricane Fiona in the Los Sotos neighborhood in Higüey, Dominican Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022.

AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo

View of a damaged plantain farm after Hurricane Fiona hit the island in Guayama, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, September 20, 2022. Fiona triggered a blackout when it hit Puerto Rico’s southwest corner on Sunday.

AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez

Residents work to recover belongings from flooding caused by Hurricane Fiona in the Los Sotos neighborhood of Higuey, Dominican Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022.

AP Photo/Stephanie Rojas

Drivers drive on a dark road after the passing of Hurricane Fiona that left the parts of the island without power, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022.