Biden vows urgent help for storm-ravaged Puerto Rico

President Joe Biden said the full force of the federal government is ready to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation of Hurricane Fiona even as Bermuda and Canada's Atlantic provinces were preparing for a major blast from the Category 4 storm.

Speaking at a briefing with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials in New York, Biden said his administration will be with "Puerto Rico now and until this is done, until we recover."

The hurricane was expected to still be at Category 4 force overnight when it passes close to Bermuda, where authorities there were opening shelters and announced schools and offices would be closed on friday.

Fiona also hit the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday, but officials there reported relatively light damage and no deaths.