‘This storm crushed us’
Devastation by hurricanes Maria, Irma leaves country reeling
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico faced another night of darkness Friday, two days after hurricane Maria hurled rain and wind at the U.S. territory and knocked out its electricity grid. Residents feared power could be out for weeks — or even months — and wondered how their battered island would cope.
Some of the island’s 3.4 million residents planned to go to the U.S. mainland to temporarily escape the desolation left by the destruction. At least in the short term, though, the soggy misery will continue: Additional rain — up to 150 mm — is expected through Saturday.
Neida Febus wandered around her San Juan neighbourhood with bowls of cooked rice, ground meat and avocado, offering food to anyone in need. The damage was so extensive, the 64-year-old retiree said, that she didn’t think the power would be turned back on until Christmas.
“This storm crushed us from one end of the island to the other,” she said.
The National Weather Service in San Juan said Friday the northwestern municipalities of Isabela and Quebradillas, home to about 70,000 people, were being evacuated because a nearby dam was failing.
The death toll in Puerto Rico stood at six but was likely to rise. Hector M. Pesquera of the Department of Public Safety said the casualties occurred in the municipalities of Utuado, Toa Baja, and Bayamon.
“At the moment these are fatalities we know of. We know of other potential fatalities through unofficial channels that we haven’t been able to confirm,” Pesquera said.
Diana Jaquez, one of the owners of the Coquette hair salon in the Santurce area, assessed damage from the storm with her husband. Their children played nearby. She said she hadn’t decided whether to leave Puerto Rico.
“Business has dropped a lot,” she said. “People have other priorities than looking good.”
Outside her store, more than 100 people stood in line waiting to get money out of an ATM machine and hoping there would still be some cash left when their turn came.
The loss of power left residents hunting for gas canisters for cooking, collecting rainwater or steeling themselves mentally for the hardships to come in the tropical heat.
“You cannot live here without power,” said Hector Llanos, a 78-year-old retired New York police officer who planned to leave Saturday for the U.S. mainland to live there temporarily.
Maria’s death toll across the Caribbean rose to at least 27. Along with six deaths on Puerto Rico, at least 15 were killed on hard-hit Dominica. Other islands reporting deaths were Haiti, three; Guadeloupe, two; and Dominican Republic, one.
As of Friday afternoon, Maria was passing northeast of the Turks and Caicos with winds of 205 km/h. A hurricane warning remained in effect for those islands as well as the southeastern Bahamas. The storm is not expected to pose a threat to the U.S. mainland.
In Puerto Rico, the power grid was in sorry shape long before Maria — and hurricane Irma two weeks ago — struck.
The territory’s $73 billion debt crisis has left agencies such as the state power company broke. It abandoned most basic maintenance in recent years, leaving the island subject to regular blackouts.
“We knew this was going to happen given the vulnerable infrastructure,” Gov. Ricardo Rossello said.
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency said it would 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.
Rossello said his administration was trying to open ports soon to receive food, water, generators, cots and other supplies.
The government has hired 56 small contractors to clear trees and put up new power lines and poles and will be sending tanker trucks to supply neighbourhoods as they run out of water. The entire island has been declared a federal disaster zone.
Mike Hyland, senior vice-president of engineering services for the American Public Power Association, a utility industry group that is sending repair crews into the Caribbean, refused to speculate on how long it would take to restore power in Puerto Rico.
“Let’s see what the facts tell us by the end of the weekend,” he said. But he acknowledged: “This is going to be a tall lift.”
Jaime Rullan, a sports commentator, has a gas stove at home but tried not to think about the lack of air conditioning on an island where the heat index has surpassed 37 C in recent days.
“We’re used to the lights going out because of storms here in Puerto Rico, but this time, we’re worried,” he said.
Deysi Rodriguez, a 46-year-old caregiver for elderly people, does not have a gas stove. And unlike others who have been lining up at the few fast-food restaurants that have reopened, Rodriguez is diabetic and has to be careful about what she eats. Rodriguez said she might temporarily move to New Jersey if the situation gets worse.