Author: Danica Cotto
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Ernesto strengthened into a Category 2 storm and barreled toward Bermuda Thursday night, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without power and water. Sweltering heat has gripped the U.S. territory, raising health concerns.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Bermuda, with Ernesto expected to pass near or over the islands on Saturday.
Ernesto predicted it could reach Category 3 intensity on Friday, with rainfall ranging from 4 to 8 inches in Bermuda and up to 12 inches in isolated areas.
The storm is expected to pass near or east of Atlantic Canada on Monday.
This is a breaking news update. Early reporting from the Associated Press follows.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Ernesto barreled toward Bermuda on Thursday, blanketing the U.S. territory with sweltering heat, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without power and water and raising health concerns.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Bermuda, with Ernesto expected to pass near or over the islands on Saturday.
The Category 1 storm was located about 450 miles (730 kilometers) south-southwest of Bermuda Thursday afternoon. Maximum sustained winds were 90 mph (150 km/h), moving north at 13 mph (20 km/h) over open water.
“I cannot stress enough how important it is for every resident to use this time to prepare. We have seen the devastating effects of complacency in the past,” said National Security Minister Michael Weeks .
Ernesto is expected to approach a Category 3 hurricane on Friday before weakening as it approaches Bermuda, with rainfall expected to fall between 6 and 12 inches, with up to 15 inches in isolated areas.
“All guidance indicates this system is a major hurricane near Bermuda,” the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Ernesto is expected to pass near or east of Atlantic Canada on Monday.
Meanwhile, Thursday's rotating storm produced southerly winds in Puerto Rico that have a heating effect unlike the typical cooling trade winds blowing from the east.
“We know many people are without power,” Ernesto Morales of the National Weather Service warned of extreme heat and urged people to stay hydrated.
More than a day after Ernesto swept across Puerto Rico as a tropical storm before intensifying into a hurricane, 290,000 of the 1.4 million customers were still in the dark Thursday night. Up to 735,000 customers were without power Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands were also without water as many questioned widespread power outages as Ernesto was only a tropical storm as it passed over the islands.
“I didn’t sleep at all,” said Ramón Mercedes Paredes, 41, a construction worker who planned to sleep outside Thursday night to escape the heat. “I haven't had time to take a shower yet.”
In a small park in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan, a 32-year-old construction worker, Alexander Reyna, a 32-year-old construction worker, drank a bright red sports drink provided by friends as a rooster crowed on nearby dominoes.
He has no water or electricity and plans to stay in the park all day. He laments the lack of breeze and a thin layer of sweat breaks out on his forehead: “I have to come here because I can't bear to stay at home.”
The situation worries many who lived through Hurricane Maria, a powerful Category 4 storm that hit Puerto Rico in September 2017 and is thought to have killed at least 2,975 people in the sweltering aftermath. It also leveled the island's electrical grid, which is still being rebuilt.
The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory Thursday, warning of “dangerously hot and humid conditions.”
Faustino Peguero, 50, said he was concerned that his wife, who suffers from fibromyalgia, heart failure and other health problems, needed electricity. He has a small generator at home but is running out of gas and can't afford to buy more because he hasn't found a job yet.
“It's chaos,” he said.
Officials say they don't know when power will be fully restored because of growing concerns about the health of many people in Puerto Rico, an island of 3.2 million people with a poverty rate of more than 40% who cannot afford generators or solar panels. .
Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, a private company that operates transmission and distribution operations in Puerto Rico, said crews have flown 540 miles (870 kilometers) across Puerto Rico and found 400 power line faults, 150 of which have been repaired. . He added that the remaining faults will take more time to repair because they involve downed trees.
“We're not seeing anything catastrophic,” he said.
Asked when he expected power to be restored, Luma operations director Alejandro González declined to say.
“It would be irresponsible to provide an exact date,” he said.
Due to the outage, at least 250,000 customers are without water across Puerto Rico, down from a maximum of 350,000 customers. Among them was Gisela Pérez, 65, who started sweating while cooking sweet plantains, pork, chicken and pasta at a street eatery. After get off work, she planned to buy several gallons of water because she was particularly concerned about her two small dogs: Miniature and Sloth.
“Without it, they can't go,” she said. “They come first.”
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