Puerto Rico remained under a tropical storm warning as Ernesto became a Category 1 hurricane late Wednesday morning.
Alerts began sounding in the city of Toa Baja on Wednesday morning, warning residents in the west of town to evacuate their homes as persistent rains from Ernesto caused the city’s main river to overflow, putting more households at risk of dangerous flooding.
The National Weather Service in San Juan warned that although Ernesto Island is located north of Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory “will continue to be affected by heavy rains and strong winds.”
Tourists sit on La Paredo Beach as Tropical Storm Ernesto passes through Luquillo, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday. Alejandro Granadillo/AP
About 640,000 electricity customers were without power as of 11 a.m. ET, according to the Puerto Rico Emergency Portal System. Government officials had been expecting widespread outages across the island, as Puerto Rico’s fragile power grid has not been permanently rebuilt since it was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Puerto Rico’s Public Security Secretary Alexis Torres told reporters on Wednesday that strong winds had toppled debris and large amounts of vegetation, blocking roads and downing power lines.
A man fills up his car and spare gas tanks in preparation for Tropical Storm Ernesto in Caguas, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday. Carlos Berrios Polanco/Sipa USA via The Associated Press
Torres also said heavy rains had caused at least three major rivers to overflow, threatening the safety of hundreds of families.
Unsafe conditions
Speaking to NBC’s sister station on the island, Telemundo Puerto Rico, mayors of the four towns said conditions have become unsafe for residents to stay outside their homes or evacuation centers.
Roads and bridges in the towns of Sidra, Jayuya, Guayama and Toa Baja are closed due to flooding and debris.
In the coastal town of Luquillo, residents used their machetes and chainsaws to clear rubble and vegetation that was blocking the only road that could allow local residents to escape in the event of an emergency.
Puerto Ricans stock up on bread and other food at a bakery ahead of Tropical Storm Ernesto on Wednesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Carlos Berrios Polanco/Sipa USA via The Associated Press
Elizabeth Nieves Jimenez of Toa Baja told Telemundo Puerto Rico she evacuated her home after hearing the warning. She was one of about a dozen residents who arrived at the town’s evacuation center on their own late Wednesday morning. The center had no electricity, and staff there were trying to get a generator running.
At least 375 people were in evacuation centers across the island as of 9:30 a.m. ET, according to data published on the Puerto Rico Emergency Portal System.
Luma Energy, the private company that distributes electricity in Puerto Rico, had not sent emergency crews as of late Wednesday morning because conditions remained too dangerous to venture outside.
“I understand that they have to ensure their safety, but our people need them,” Sidra Mayor Ángel David Concepcion told Telemundo Puerto Rico in Spanish, adding that most of his city’s residents have no electricity or running water. In most parts of Puerto Rico, water pumps run on electricity.
People buy fresh produce at a supermarket in preparation for Tropical Storm Ernesto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday. Jaydee Lee Serrano/AFP via Getty Images
About 120,000 customers were without water as of 11:15 a.m., according to data posted on the Puerto Rico Emergency Portal System.
Flood warnings were also issued for much of Puerto Rico for the remainder of the day.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday approved a state of emergency declaration for Puerto Rico, authorizing aid payments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
