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| Puerto Rico Braces for ‘Potentially Catastrophic’ Hit by Hurricane Maria | Puerto Rico Braces for ‘Potentially Catastrophic’ Hit by Hurricane Maria |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| SAN JUAN, P.R. — Almost two weeks after being grazed as Hurricane Irma battered other islands in the Caribbean, the residents of Puerto Rico were bracing for a potentially devastating sequel: a direct hit from Hurricane Maria, which could be the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the island in close to a century. | SAN JUAN, P.R. — Almost two weeks after being grazed as Hurricane Irma battered other islands in the Caribbean, the residents of Puerto Rico were bracing for a potentially devastating sequel: a direct hit from Hurricane Maria, which could be the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the island in close to a century. |
| After slicing through the islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe, Maria, described as “potentially catastrophic” by the National Hurricane Center, was moving west-northwest at 10 miles per hour over the northeastern Caribbean Sea, with maximum sustained winds of 175 m.p.h., at about 1 a.m. on Wednesday. Maria is expected to produce more than 12 inches of rainfall, which will cause “life-threatening flash floods and mudslides” in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the hurricane center said. | |
| Maria’s outer eyewall was lashing St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, and the storm was forecast to cut diagonally, southeast to northwest, through Puerto Rico later in the day. If it hits at high tide Wednesday morning, the surge and waves could raise water levels by up to nine feet, the hurricane center said. It may weaken slightly but is still expected to be an “extremely dangerous category 4 or 5” when it hits Puerto Rico, the center said. | |
| “This is an unprecedented atmospheric system,” Ricardo A. Rosselló, the governor of Puerto Rico, said Tuesday. “It is time to act and look for a safe place if you live in flood-prone areas or in wooden or vulnerable structures.” | “This is an unprecedented atmospheric system,” Ricardo A. Rosselló, the governor of Puerto Rico, said Tuesday. “It is time to act and look for a safe place if you live in flood-prone areas or in wooden or vulnerable structures.” |
| Puerto Rico was still healing the scars left behind by Hurricane Irma, which left three dead and battered the island’s troubled electrical system. | Puerto Rico was still healing the scars left behind by Hurricane Irma, which left three dead and battered the island’s troubled electrical system. |
| Even though Hurricane Irma passed just north of Puerto Rico, gusts took out its fragile power grid, leaving over 70 percent of households without electricity and 34 percent without water. Many residents were left in the dark hours before Irma hit. An estimated 4 percent remain without power. | Even though Hurricane Irma passed just north of Puerto Rico, gusts took out its fragile power grid, leaving over 70 percent of households without electricity and 34 percent without water. Many residents were left in the dark hours before Irma hit. An estimated 4 percent remain without power. |
| Officials said it was likely the electrical system would be knocked out again if Maria hits as expected. | Officials said it was likely the electrical system would be knocked out again if Maria hits as expected. |
| On Tuesday, residents scrambled to buy generators and many stores were already out. Cars lined up outside gas stations and many stations were already rationing the amount of gas they were selling per customer. Residents flocked to supermarkets and waited in line for hours, expecting to be without power for weeks, maybe even months. | On Tuesday, residents scrambled to buy generators and many stores were already out. Cars lined up outside gas stations and many stations were already rationing the amount of gas they were selling per customer. Residents flocked to supermarkets and waited in line for hours, expecting to be without power for weeks, maybe even months. |
| Roberto Rivera, 61, raced to buy canned foods and two 24-packs of water bottles. | Roberto Rivera, 61, raced to buy canned foods and two 24-packs of water bottles. |
| “I came immediately because I couldn’t buy anything for Irma,” Mr. Rivera said inside a packed supermarket in San Juan. “I see everyone is on the same boat here.” | “I came immediately because I couldn’t buy anything for Irma,” Mr. Rivera said inside a packed supermarket in San Juan. “I see everyone is on the same boat here.” |
| Mr. Rivera is a construction worker for the government-owned Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, known as Prepa. Even he expects that the power grid will collapse. | Mr. Rivera is a construction worker for the government-owned Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, known as Prepa. Even he expects that the power grid will collapse. |
| “It’s going to come down again,” he said. “No doubt.” | “It’s going to come down again,” he said. “No doubt.” |
| Burdened by the island’s debt crisis, the utility effectively declared bankruptcy in July and cannot tap into capital markets after defaulting on $9 billion in bond debt. | Burdened by the island’s debt crisis, the utility effectively declared bankruptcy in July and cannot tap into capital markets after defaulting on $9 billion in bond debt. |
| Over the years, the agency has been unable to make the appropriate upgrades and improvements to its system. | Over the years, the agency has been unable to make the appropriate upgrades and improvements to its system. |
| Efforts to modernize Prepa’s plants, which burn imported oil to produce electricity, and diversify energy sources have mostly come to a halt. So has much routine maintenance like trimming trees near power lines. | Efforts to modernize Prepa’s plants, which burn imported oil to produce electricity, and diversify energy sources have mostly come to a halt. So has much routine maintenance like trimming trees near power lines. |
| About 500 schools and other buildings were set up as shelters throughout the island. The shelters have a capacity for 66,826 people and 133,352 people in an emergency situation. The commonwealth has a population of about 3.5 million people. | About 500 schools and other buildings were set up as shelters throughout the island. The shelters have a capacity for 66,826 people and 133,352 people in an emergency situation. The commonwealth has a population of about 3.5 million people. |
| By late Tuesday, 2,756 people had sought shelter, government officials said. | By late Tuesday, 2,756 people had sought shelter, government officials said. |
| Gladis Villanueva, 71, was one of 523 people who sought shelter at the Roberto Clemente stadium in San Juan by Tuesday evening. | Gladis Villanueva, 71, was one of 523 people who sought shelter at the Roberto Clemente stadium in San Juan by Tuesday evening. |
| Ms. Villanueva, who was filling in a word search booklet to ease her nerves, said she lives on the first floor of a condominium in Santurce. She decided to seek refuge out of fear her home would be damaged, but also because of the atmosphere. | Ms. Villanueva, who was filling in a word search booklet to ease her nerves, said she lives on the first floor of a condominium in Santurce. She decided to seek refuge out of fear her home would be damaged, but also because of the atmosphere. |
| “I prefer to be around people,” she said. “I feel even more secure.” | “I prefer to be around people,” she said. “I feel even more secure.” |
| A total of 720 people had taken refuge in San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of the capital, said. | A total of 720 people had taken refuge in San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of the capital, said. |
| “I was told that the central government could be out of communication for 72 hours after the hurricane,” Ms. Cruz said on Tuesday evening. “Without a doubt we are going to lose hundreds of wooden homes with zinc roofs.” | “I was told that the central government could be out of communication for 72 hours after the hurricane,” Ms. Cruz said on Tuesday evening. “Without a doubt we are going to lose hundreds of wooden homes with zinc roofs.” |
| Authorities near the coast, in flood zones and other vulnerable areas hit the streets Tuesday to warn people that the time had come to seek shelter. | Authorities near the coast, in flood zones and other vulnerable areas hit the streets Tuesday to warn people that the time had come to seek shelter. |
| “We are trying to create consciousness to tell them they have to leave, because this is really serious,” said Miguel “Mickey” López, the mayor of Las Piedras, a city near the southeast coast. | “We are trying to create consciousness to tell them they have to leave, because this is really serious,” said Miguel “Mickey” López, the mayor of Las Piedras, a city near the southeast coast. |
| Mr. López said it was not just low-lying areas at risk: mountainous areas above sea level were also potential sites for landslides. | Mr. López said it was not just low-lying areas at risk: mountainous areas above sea level were also potential sites for landslides. |
| The situation is particularly dire in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Still reeling from the devastation left by Irma, the local government there has urged residents not to take shelter in their damaged homes, instructing them to take refuge in one of the territory’s eight shelters. | The situation is particularly dire in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Still reeling from the devastation left by Irma, the local government there has urged residents not to take shelter in their damaged homes, instructing them to take refuge in one of the territory’s eight shelters. |
| Hurricane Irma knocked out the basic infrastructure in St. Thomas and St. John, leaving thousands of residents without homes, electricity, water, and telecommunications. St. Croix was virtually unscathed by Irma and has become the United States government’s central command base for relief efforts in the region. | Hurricane Irma knocked out the basic infrastructure in St. Thomas and St. John, leaving thousands of residents without homes, electricity, water, and telecommunications. St. Croix was virtually unscathed by Irma and has become the United States government’s central command base for relief efforts in the region. |
| The National Hurricane Center said at 1 a.m. on Wednesday that the storm’s outer eyewall had begun to batter St. Croix, with sustained winds of 90 m.p.h. reported. | |
| Dominica already sustained “mind boggling” damage from the hurricane, its prime minister said Tuesday, after the storm hit with maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 miles per hour that ripped roofs off buildings, including his own home. | Dominica already sustained “mind boggling” damage from the hurricane, its prime minister said Tuesday, after the storm hit with maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 miles per hour that ripped roofs off buildings, including his own home. |
| Puerto Rico hasn’t been hit by a Category 5 storm since Hurricane Okeechobee, also known as San Felipe II, hit on Sept. 13, 1928, and then went on to Florida, where several hundred West Indian workers were killed near Lake Okeechobee. | Puerto Rico hasn’t been hit by a Category 5 storm since Hurricane Okeechobee, also known as San Felipe II, hit on Sept. 13, 1928, and then went on to Florida, where several hundred West Indian workers were killed near Lake Okeechobee. |
| “Unofficially, some believe that as many as 1,500 people died in Puerto Rico,” said Stuart Schwartz, a Yale University historian who wrote “Sea of Storms,” a history of hurricanes in the Caribbean. “The question is whether to count people who died in the immediate aftermath of illness and starvation.” | “Unofficially, some believe that as many as 1,500 people died in Puerto Rico,” said Stuart Schwartz, a Yale University historian who wrote “Sea of Storms,” a history of hurricanes in the Caribbean. “The question is whether to count people who died in the immediate aftermath of illness and starvation.” |
| The damage was estimated at $80 million. It hit particularly hard because it entered from the southeast and crossed the island diagonally, exiting in the northwest and leaving destruction across the entire island. Maria is similar in its diagonal path, but its trajectory is shorter, so it will not cover the entire swath of the 90-mile island. | The damage was estimated at $80 million. It hit particularly hard because it entered from the southeast and crossed the island diagonally, exiting in the northwest and leaving destruction across the entire island. Maria is similar in its diagonal path, but its trajectory is shorter, so it will not cover the entire swath of the 90-mile island. |
| Diagonal storms are particularly dangerous, because they not only cause storm surge at the coast, but they dump rain on the mountains, causing rivers to overflow and wrecking agriculture. San Felipe II destroyed Puerto Rico’s coffee farms, and the island never fully recovered, according to Mr. Schwartz’s book. | Diagonal storms are particularly dangerous, because they not only cause storm surge at the coast, but they dump rain on the mountains, causing rivers to overflow and wrecking agriculture. San Felipe II destroyed Puerto Rico’s coffee farms, and the island never fully recovered, according to Mr. Schwartz’s book. |
| Maria will hit some of Puerto Rico’s most densely populated urban centers, which are ill-prepared, he said. | Maria will hit some of Puerto Rico’s most densely populated urban centers, which are ill-prepared, he said. |
| “What’s really interesting is to have had three major hurricanes virtually at the same time, and that’s a rare occurrence,” he said. “These aren’t natural disasters, they are natural phenomena, and we humans turn them into disasters by not doing preparations that are necessary in a zone subject to this kind of phenomenon.” | “What’s really interesting is to have had three major hurricanes virtually at the same time, and that’s a rare occurrence,” he said. “These aren’t natural disasters, they are natural phenomena, and we humans turn them into disasters by not doing preparations that are necessary in a zone subject to this kind of phenomenon.” |