Maria finishes Irma’s carnage
CARIBBEAN: The strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years destroyed hundreds of homes, knocked out power across the island and turned some streets into raging rivers yesterday in an onslaught that could plunge the United States territory deeper into financial crisis.
Leaving at least nine people dead in its wake across the Caribbean, Hurricane Maria blew ashore in the morning near the southeast coastal town of Yabucoa as a Category 4 storm with winds of 250kmh.
It punished the island of 3.4 million people with lifethreatening winds for several hours, the second time in two weeks that Puerto Rico has felt the wrath of a hurricane.
``Once we’re able to go outside, we’re going to find our island destroyed,’' warned Abner Gomez, Puerto Rico’s emergency management director. ``The information we have received is not encouraging. It’s a system that has destroyed everything in its path.’'
There were no immediate reports of any deaths or serious injuries on the island.
As people waited in shelters or took cover inside stairwells, bathrooms and closets, Maria brought down cell towers and power lines, snapped trees, tore off roofs and unloaded at least 50cm of rain.
Widespread flooding was reported, with dozens of cars halfsubmerged in some neighbourhoods and many streets turned into rivers. People calling local radio stations reported that doors were being torn off their hinges and a water tank flew away.
Felix Delgado, mayor of the northern coastal city of Catano, said 80 per cent of the 454 homes in one neighbourhood were destroyed. The fishing community near San Juan Bay was hit with a storm surge of more than 1.2m, he said.
``Months and months and months and months are going to pass before we can recover from this,’' he said.
Governor Ricardo Rossello imposed a curfew from 6pm to 6am (local time) daily until Saturday to allow rescue crews and officials to respond to the hurricane’s aftermath.
``We are at a critical moment in the effort to help thousands of Puerto Ricans that urgently need aid and to assess the great damage caused by Hurricane Maria,’' he said. ``Maintaining public order will be essential.’'
Maria later weakened into a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 175kmh. It was centred just off the northwestern corner of Puerto Rico, moving at 19kmh.
Even before the storm, Puerto Rico’s electrical grid was crumbling and the island was in dire condition financially.
Puerto Rico is struggling to restructure a portion of its US$73 billion debt, and the government has warned it is running out of money as it fights against furloughs and other austerity measures imposed by a federal board overseeing the island’s finances.
Rossello urged people to have faith: ``We are stronger than any hurricane. Together, we will rebuild.’'
He asked President Donald Trump to declare the island a disaster zone, a step that would open the way to federal aid.
Many people feared extended power outages would further sink businesses struggling amid a recession that has lasted more than a decade.
``This is going to be a disaster,’' said Jean Robert Auguste, who owns two French restaurants and sought shelter at a San Juan hotel. ``We haven’t made any money this month.’'
More than 11,000 people – and more than 580 pets – were in shelters, authorities said.
Along the island’s northern coast, an emergency medical station in the town of Arecibo lost its roof, while communication was severed with several emergency management posts. A hospital and a police station reported broken windows, and a tree fell on an ambulance.
As the storm closed in on the Dominican Republic, about 4000 tourists in the Bavara-Punta Cana area on the eastern tip of the island were moved to hotels in Santo Domingo, the capital. About 100 flights were cancelled and the government sent workers home.