Saint John.-Tropical Storm Ernesto battered the northeastern Caribbean on Tuesday on its way to Puerto Rico, where authorities closed schools and government offices.
The storm was located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) east-southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday morning. Its maximum sustained winds were 45 miles per hour (75 kilometers per hour) and it was moving west at 18 mph (30 kph).
“It’s not a hurricane, but it’s still bringing heavy rains,” Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said, urging people to seek shelter by early Tuesday afternoon.
Pierluisi activated the National Guard as teams across the island visited flood-prone areas and elderly residents as part of last-minute preparations.
Forecasters have warned of widespread flooding and possible landslides, with 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters) of rain and higher amounts in isolated areas. Six of Puerto Rico’s reservoirs were already overflowing from the storm.
Tropical storm warnings have been issued for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint Maarten.
The National Hurricane Center said Ernesto would pass over or near Puerto Rico and the British and U.S. Virgin Islands on Tuesday night.
Authorities also warned that Ernesto would trigger widespread power outages given the fragile state of Puerto Rico’s power grid, which is still being rebuilt after Hurricane Maria hit the island in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm.
“That’s a reality,” said Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, a private company that operates the transmission and distribution of Puerto Rico’s electricity.
Power outages were also a concern in the neighboring U.S. Virgin Islands for similar reasons. Even before the storm approached, authorities announced power outages on the islands of St. John and St. Thomas that affected all residents.
“Stay tuned for this,” said U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr., whose government announced Tuesday morning the closure of all schools.
Ernesto drenched the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe on Tuesday morning, where authorities closed several major roads, urged people to stay indoors and warned that the quality of running water would be affected for several days.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It was expected to strengthen into a hurricane Thursday morning as it passed through open waters before heading toward Bermuda.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year due to record ocean temperatures. It predicts between 17 and 25 named storms, and four to seven Category 3 or higher hurricanes.Infobae.
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2024-08-15 15:26:14
