Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane as it dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and left nearly half of all clients in the U.S. territory without power as it threatened to become a major storm en route to Bermuda.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday as it dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and left nearly half of all clients in the U.S. territory without power as it threatened to become a major storm en route to Bermuda.
“I know it was a long night listening to that wind howl,” U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said in a news conference.An island-wide blackout was reported in St. John and St. Croix, and at least six cell phone towers were knocked offline across the U.S. territory, said Daryl Jaschen, emergency management director.Schools and government agencies remained closed in the U.S.
“Residents need to prepare now before conditions worsen,” said Bermuda's National Security Minister Michael Weeks. “Now is not the time for complacency.”“That means that anybody who goes to the beach, even if the weather is beautiful and nice, it could be dangerous … with those rip currents,” said Robbie Berg, warning coordination meteorologist with the
“We are trying to get the system up and running as soon as we can,” said Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, the company that operates transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico. Rooftop solar systems are scarce but keep growing in Puerto Rico, where fossil fuels generate 94% of the island's electricity. At the time María hit, there were 8,000 rooftop installations, compared with more than 117,000 currently, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
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