Marina Villas and Jorge J. Muniz Ortiz
San Juan/Toa Baja, September 19 Puerto Rico is without power or water this Monday and with many areas flooded and even isolated, a day after Hurricane Fiona passed the island, whose authorities are worried about continued rains.
The Category 1 hurricane brought up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rainfall to the island, causing several rivers to burst their banks, causing flash flooding and impassable roads.
A man drowned today after being swept away by the waters of the La Plata River in Comerío, central Puerto Rico, whose channel has increased due to heavy rainfall from Fiona.
In Toa Baja, where hundreds of people were evacuated yesterday because of the floods, the situation was dramatic that day with vehicles stranded in mid-water and fallen trees.
Edward Oliveras, a tow truck driver, stood guard at the entrance to Barrio Ingenio de Toa Baja to make sure another car was not trapped by the overflow from a nearby pipe.
“People come by because they are desperately looking for the families there, and we shake hands,” said Oliveras, who had already saved two vehicles at the time of the conversation with Efe.
THE CONSTANT RAIN CAN MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE
The interim director of the National Meteorological Service (SNM), Ernesto Morales, warned that “the rains associated with Fiona are wreaking havoc in the south and interior of the island” and that “if this type of rain continues, there will be catastrophic proportions.” “
“What worries us is that we are expecting rain in the same sectors, southern Puerto Rico and the central mountain range. This is serious,” Morales added at a news conference.
In the same vein, the governor, Pedro Pierluisi, said that “unfortunately” more rains are expected for this Monday and Tuesday and “the risk of flooding, landslides and landslides persists”.
More than 2,100 people have taken refuge in 113 shelters scattered around the island, two of which have registered two deaths “from natural causes”, one of them an 88-year-old woman from a heart attack in Mayagüez (West) .
Dozens of highways are closed and impassable because of fallen trees and power poles, landslides or flooding, from Barceloneta (north) through the entire mountainous area of the center to Ponce (south), where Mayor Luis Irizarry said there are isolated neighborhoods.
THOUSAND PEOPLE SAVED
Governor Pierluisi reported that the National Guard had carried out 30 rescues of 1,000 people in 25 communities on the island and that firefighters had rescued another 83.
“In many areas, the impact was greater than Hurricane Maria (of 2017),” the governor noted, repeating how he said yesterday that “the damage was catastrophic.”
Cataño is also badly affected in the north of the island, where residents had to be expelled. Rafael Pagán Rivera walked down one of the flooded streets of the Juana Matos neighborhood to deliver a mandao (favor) to another of his neighbors.
“The question is to serve the community to help the elderly who cannot go to the shops. I’ve been on the street since 4 a.m.,” he explained.
The man admitted he was “surprised” by the amount of rain, but that he and his eight children are doing fine despite losing seven roosters to drowning.
Although the weather forecast is not good, most of the airports and six seaports were able to reopen, but classes at both public schools and universities were also suspended tomorrow Tuesday.
A SLOW RECOVERY OF LIGHT AND WATER
The number of houses affected has not yet been counted, but what all Puerto Ricans have to deal with today is the lack of electricity and running water. Some gas stations had lines to charge power generators, while several communities opened water collection points.
“Our goal is that in a few days a large proportion of subscribers will have electricity,” said Pierluisi, who acknowledged that it was “impossible” to guarantee 100% recovery because all the damage had not yet been assessed.
Electricity transmission and distribution company LUMA Energy reported that it has restored service to 100,000 customers in the northern area, but subscribers on the island are 1.4 million.
The use of emergency generators to remedy the power shortage also has its dangers. A 70-year-old man was burned when the device he was handling exploded in Arecibo (north).
LUMA Director of Public Safety Abner Gómez said the priority is on essential services, particularly hospitals, emergency shelters and water pumps at the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA).
As for water, about 800,000 out of a total of 1.2 million subscribers are off-duty, according to the AAA, which explained that many filtration systems are down due to “obstructing raw water intake” or “high turbidity.” EFE
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