Massive storm’s 185-mph winds lash north side of Puerto Rico,
Puerto Rico endured Hurricane Irma’s harsh winds as the massive Category 5 storm struck the north side of the island after causing substantial damage elsewhere in the Caribbean earlier Wednesday.
Ernesto Morales, emergency coordinator at the National Weather Service in San Juan, said Irma’s winds — sustained at 185 mph, with higher gusts — were the biggest concern. “The eye is closer to us than we expected,” he said.
Morales said the storm — which he said could leave floods around the island for days after it is out of the island’s radar — was expected to reach its peak Wednesday night in San Juan.
“We had a lot of time to prepare, and we believe we reached the public,” he said.
The island had not seen a Category 5 hurricane since 1928, when Hurricane San Felipe II killed more than 300 people and caused more than $50 million in damage. However, Morales cautioned against comparing the hurricanes because every storm’s formation is different.
About 10 p.m. Wednesday, more than a million households were without power, Emergency Services spokeswoman Beatriz Diaz said. But she warned that number was growing by the minute.
Diaz said the agency was not sending personnel out during the storm for safety reasons, but authorities are keeping track of the incidents being reported. Most of those, she said, involved damage caused by falling trees and limbs.
Odalys Garcia, a spokeswoman for the Electric Energy Authority (AEE), said it’s hard to predict power outages ahead of the storm. But the AEE director has previously said that if Hurricane Irma were to hit the island directly, some residents should expect to be without power for four to six months.
“With this hurricane, the eye won’t travel over Puerto Rico, so the services shouldn’t be affected at that magnitude,” Garcia said.
Karim Del Valle, a spokeswoman for the island’s water provider, said about 30,000 people had lost service by midday Wednesday.
Carlos M. Contreras, the director of Puerto Rico’s Department of Transportation and Public Works, said he expected the worst damage to come from wind.
Contreras — whose agency manages the ferries that operate between Culebra and Vieques islands and the main island — also said he was concerned about Culebra’s dock, which was being repaired but was not finished in time for Irma’s arrival.
“We are prepared, and our brigades are ready to respond once we assess the damage,” Contreras said.