THE DAM BREAKS
Frantic evacuations in Puerto Rico as floods surge, death toll rises
The misery mounted in Puerto Rico Friday as the Guajataca Dam failed, forcing the frantic evacuation of flooding villages that are home to some 70,000 people just days after Hurricane Maria slammed the island.
PUERTO RICO was plunged into a new crisis Friday after a dam failed, triggering flash floods in a western swath of the island already ravaged by Hurricane Maria.
The breach at the Guajataca Dam, located about 68 miles west of San Juan, sent torrents of water rushing toward the towns of Isabella and Quebradillas.
The floods threatened to inundate an area downstream that’s home to about 70,000 people.
“Move to higher ground now. This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the National Weather Service warned.
“Act quickly to protect your life . ... Buses will be evacuating people from these areas.”
The dam, owned by Prepa, the island’s power authority, was built in 1929. It’s about 1,000 feet long and 120 feet high, and it holds back a man-made lake spanning roughly 2 square miles. It was last inspected in October 2013, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“It’s a structural failure. I don’t have any more details,” Gov. Ricardo Rossello said. “We’re trying to evacuate as many people as possible.”
The flash flood warning was sent hours after the death toll from Maria rose to at least 13 people in Puerto Rico.
The number of fatalities in the U.S. territory — still without electricity late Friday — is likely to rise as rescuers reach the island’s most remote areas.
Rossello told CNN he had early reports of at least 13 storm-related deaths. El Nuevo Dia newspaper reported at least 15 people were killed.
“We have reports of complete devastation,” he said, noting that 700 people had been rescued from the floodwaters.
Among the dead were eight people who drowned in Toa Baja, about 20 miles west of San Juan.
Three elderly, bedridden sisters were killed by a mudslide on Wednesday in the mountainous central municipality of Utuado, according to the newspaper El Nuevo Dia.
The storm lashed Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas later in the day Friday. The severity of the damage in those islands wasn’t immediately clear.
Forecasters predict the storm will spin out to the Atlantic, sparing the U.S. mainland.
Previously a Category 5 hurri-
cane, Maria carved a path of de- struction through several Caribbean islands — killing at least 14 people in Dominica, two in Guadeloupe and one in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The most powerful storm to strike Puerto Rico in nearly 90 years knocked out power to the island’s 3.5 million residents and triggered landslides and massive flooding. Officials say it could take up to six months to restore the electrical grid.
Search-and-rescue teams fanning out across the island were hampered by flooded roadways and areas ravaged by mudslides.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency was preparing to open an air bridge from the mainland on Friday, with three to four military planes flying to the island every day carrying water, food, generators and temporary shelters.
“There’s a humanitarian emergency here in Puerto Rico,” Rossello told the Associated Press. “This is an event without precedent.”
Experts said the island’s $73 billion debt crisis contributed to the vulnerability of its power grid as basic maintenance was abandoned in recent years.
Mayor de Blasio and his rival Republican rival, Nicole Malliotakis, urged New Yorkers to donate supplies to Puerto Rico and the other islands hit hard by Maria.
Despite the prospect of enduring months without power, several Puerto Ricans said they have no plans to flee.
“I’m from here. I believe we have to step up to the task,” said Israel Molina, 68, as he surveyed the damage to his market in San Juan.
“If everyone leaves, what are we going to do? With all the pros and the cons, I will stay here,” he said. Molina paused for a moment. “I might have a different response tomorrow,” he said.
As she assessed the damage to her nearby hair salon, Diana Jaquez said she hasn’t decided whether to stay or go.
“Business has dropped a lot,” she said. “People have other priorities than looking good.” She didn’t need to elaborate. Outside her store, a line of more than 100 people snaked from a lone ATM — all of them hoping to reach the machine before the cash ran out.
The soggy island was bracing for more rain — up to 6 inches is expected through Saturday.
Carrying bowls of cooked rice, ground meat and avocado, San Juan resident Neida Febus spent the day walking around her neighborhood in search of people in need of food.
The 64-year-old said she feared Puerto Rico would be without power until Christmas.
“This storm crushed us from one end of the island to the other,” she said.