Hurricane Maria Leaves All of Puerto Rico without Power

Ryan Duncan | Contributing Editor | Updated: Sep 21, 2017

Hurricane Maria Leaves All of Puerto Rico without Power

The office of emergency management in Puerto Rico confirmed that the entire U.S. territory had lost power following landfall of Hurricane Maria. Much like Texas after Hurricane Harvey, and Florida after Hurricane Irma, Maria has devastated Puerto Rico. According to ABC News, only one person has died so far but multiple transmission lines have been damaged, leaving most residents to rely on emergency generators for electricity. Abner Gomez Cortes, executive director of the island’s emergency management and disaster administration agency, told ABC News that telecommunications across the region have completely collapsed. Further discussion revealed this was only the beginning of the island’s troubles,

“Cortes described Maria as an unprecedented storm, adding that the island had not seen a storm of that strength since 1928. A hurricane task force for the U.S. Department of State is monitoring Maria's path in the Caribbean and will coordinate evacuations for U.S. citizens and provide aid on the ground, a State Department official told ABC News.”

“Puerto Rico was still experiencing tropical-storm force winds Wednesday afternoon, forcing emergency services and search and rescue teams to wait before heading out to assess the damage, Cortes said. More than 12,000 people are currently in shelters, and hospitals are now running on generators, Cortes said. Two hospitals -- one in Caguas and one in Bayamon -- have been damaged.”

Currently, Hurricane Maria is headed north back out to sea, where forecasters predict it will weaken and eventually dissipate. The only expected impacts of the storm will be larger surfs and currents on the east coast. Though Puerto Rico has suffered gravely, Cortes is confident the island will rebuild with hard work and perseverance.

(Image Credit:©Thinkstock/Gabiixs)

*Published 9/21/2017



Hurricane Maria Leaves All of Puerto Rico without Power