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Life-threatening winds and floods hit Puerto Rico as Maria makes landfall Hurricane Maria leaves Puerto Rico in total blackout as storm batters island
(about 5 hours later)
Puerto Ricans sheltered from life-threatening winds and floods on Wednesday, as the Caribbean endured the third pummeling from a major storm in as many weeks. Puerto Ricans are facing a night without electricity after Hurricane Maria’s strong winds and flooding knocked out the US territory’s power service on Wednesday.
Hurricane Maria made landfall on the southeast coast of Puerto Rico early on Wednesday morning as a category 4 storm, with winds of 155mph (250kph). Residents said roofs were torn off buildings and doors flew off their hinges as the government warned of significant damage to the power system and infrastructure. Island residents endured a day of punishing winds and life-threatening flooding from the category 4 storm, which was the third hurricane to pummel the Caribbean in as many weeks. The hurricane dropped to a category 2 after devastating Puerto Rico, but the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that it could regain strength in the coming days.
“Everybody there should be prepared to stay safe the rest of the day and tonight,” said Mike Brennan, a senior hurricane specialist at the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). The storm made landfall early on Wednesday morning with winds of 155mph (250kph). Residents said roofs were torn off buildings and doors flew off their hinges.
Brennan said Maria would remain “a major, very dangerous hurricane” for the next couple of days and that rainfall would be a problem even after the center of the hurricane moved away from the island. The NHC recorded maximum sustained winds of 140mph, said Brennan. Puerto Rico’s governor, Ricardo Rossello, ordered a curfew every night until Saturday, from 6pm until 6am, saying the move was essential to maintain order. “Remain in safe places,” Rosello said. Emergency personnel, health workers and reporters are exempt.
Puerto Rico’s governor, Ricardo Rossello, said on Twitter: “Resist Puerto Rico – God is with us; we are stronger than any hurricane. Together, we rise.” Starting To receive images from Puerto Rico. My sister just sent me this. It’s from Utuado my hometown. #HurricaneMaria pic.twitter.com/STnSEI9yBm
There was widespread flooding in the capital of San Juan, with dozens of half-submerged cars in the some areas, and a flash-flood warning was declared in central Puerto Rico, where river levels are at a record high. People took cover in stairwells, bathrooms and closets as trees and communication towers were knocked down in the storm. Widespread flooding affected the capital of San Juan, and a flash-flood warning was declared in central Puerto Rico, where river levels are at a record high. People took cover in stairwells, bathrooms and closets as trees and communication towers were knocked down in the storm.
“This is going to be an extremely violent phenomenon,” Rossello warned earlier Wednesday. “We have not experienced an event of this magnitude in our modern history.” Felix Delgado, mayor of the northern coastal city of Catano, told the Associated Press that 80% of the 454 homes in a neighborhood known as Juana Matos were destroyed. “Months and months and months and months are going to pass before we can recover from this,” he said.
Rossello warned the country would lose “a lot of infrastructure”. Homes built after 2011 – when the island, a US territory, introduced newer construction codes – could survive the winds but those in flood-prone areas “have no chance”, he said. Mike Brennan, a senior hurricane specialist at the NHC, said Maria would remain “a major, very dangerous hurricane” for the next couple of days and that rainfall would be a problem even after the center of the hurricane moved away from the island.
The streets and beaches of San Juan were empty by Tuesday afternoon after officials urged residents to evacuate. Before the storm, more than 4,400 people and 105 pets crowded into emergency shelters, including the Puerto Rico convention center in San Juan, where people who fled Hurricane Irma from other Caribbean islands have been staying. Federal officials were reporting that all energy customers in Puerto Rico had been left without power late on Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) told the Guardian.
As Puerto Rico residents braced for the storm on Tuesday, US president Donald Trump sent a message of support on Twitter: “Puerto Rico being hit hard by new monster Hurricane,” he said. “Be careful, our hearts are with you- will be there to help!” The executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA), Carlos Mercader, said there were 13,000 evacuees in Puerto Rico’s shelters. This includes people who evacuated from other islands during Hurricane Irma.
Rossello said on Wednesday he has asked Donald Trump to declare Puerto Rico a disaster zone. The White House on Monday declared an emergency, but a disaster declaration would increase the federal assistance programs available to help the recovery. In a meeting broadcast online on Wednesday morning, Mercader warned power was expected to shut down. Because of this, he said, his administration was prioritizing getting generators to help power hospitals, schools, the water system and flood pumps. “In order to help with the floodings, we need electricity,” he said.
Puerto Rico has $73bn in public debt and is working to restructure part of it, though the government has warned it is running out of money in the face of this and other austerity measures. Earlier on Wednesday, governor Rossello warned the country would lose “a lot of infrastructure”. Homes built after 2011 – when the island, a US territory, introduced newer construction codes – could survive the winds but those in flood-prone areas “have no chance”, he said.
One business owner in San Juan said Puerto Ricans were worried the hurricane would create further problems for the struggling economy. As Puerto Rico residents braced for the storm on Tuesday, US president Donald Trump sent a message of support on Twitter: “Puerto Rico being hit hard by new monster Hurricane,” he said. “Be careful, our hearts are with you – will be there to help!”
“This is going to be a disaster,” Jean Robert Auguste, who owns two French restaurants in San Juan, told the AP. “We haven’t made any money this month.”
Maria is the first category 4 hurricane to hit Puerto Rico since 1932. It was expected to move north off the coast before passing the coast of Hispaniola and moving near the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands, according to the NHC.Maria is the first category 4 hurricane to hit Puerto Rico since 1932. It was expected to move north off the coast before passing the coast of Hispaniola and moving near the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands, according to the NHC.
Officials on those islands were preparing for life-threatening flooding. “Maria is expected to remain a dangerous major hurricane through Friday,” the NHC said. Residents of the British Virgin Islands told the Guardian that it was hard to tell how badly the islands had been hit because the damage inflicted by Hurricane Irma was so fresh. Communication with the territory remained patchy, and a strict curfew was being enforced.
Brigadier John Ridge, second in command of the UK’s joint taskforce, said he expected the British Virgin Islands to escape the level of destruction wrought by Hurricane Irma. But he said: “The real concern is the amount of rain and the storm surge. They are predicting between 7ft and 11ft of storm surge, and the problem with the rain is the flooding and runoff associated with that.”
The hurricane was still category 5 early Wednesday morning when it pummeled St Croix, the largest and southernmost of the US Virgin Islands, and the French island of Guadeloupe, where at least one person died and about 40% of homes were without power in the aftermath of the storm.The hurricane was still category 5 early Wednesday morning when it pummeled St Croix, the largest and southernmost of the US Virgin Islands, and the French island of Guadeloupe, where at least one person died and about 40% of homes were without power in the aftermath of the storm.
There were “multiple casualties” on Dominica, the first island struck by Maria, according to the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and at least 90% of buildings were damaged. The storm took out all of the island’s communication systems, triggered landslides and blocked roads, OECS said.There were “multiple casualties” on Dominica, the first island struck by Maria, according to the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and at least 90% of buildings were damaged. The storm took out all of the island’s communication systems, triggered landslides and blocked roads, OECS said.
Communications with the island were severely disrupted and inhabitants were only able to make contact with the outside world using shortwave radios.Communications with the island were severely disrupted and inhabitants were only able to make contact with the outside world using shortwave radios.
At least seven people died there, according to Hartley Henry, a chief aid to the prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit. Henry gave an update on the impact of hurricane after speaking to Skerrit, who he said expects the death toll to increase as they get more information from rural communities.At least seven people died there, according to Hartley Henry, a chief aid to the prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit. Henry gave an update on the impact of hurricane after speaking to Skerrit, who he said expects the death toll to increase as they get more information from rural communities.
Henry said: “The country is in a daze – no electricity, no running water – as a result of uprooted pipes in most communities and definitely to landline or cellphone services on island, and that will be for quite a while.”Henry said: “The country is in a daze – no electricity, no running water – as a result of uprooted pipes in most communities and definitely to landline or cellphone services on island, and that will be for quite a while.”