Hurricane Ernesto targets Bermuda, many Puerto Ricans without power

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Ernesto strengthened to a Category 2 storm Thursday evening as it headed toward Bermuda after leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without power or water. Extreme heat blanketed the U.S. territory, raising concerns about people’s health.

A A hurricane warning was in effect for Bermuda.Ernesto is expected to pass near or over the island on Saturday.

The storm was centered 410 miles (660 kilometers) southwest of Bermuda late Thursday. Maximum sustained winds had increased to 100 mph (155 kph), and the storm was moving northeast at 14 mph (22 kph) over open water.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of every resident taking this time to prepare,” said Homeland Security Minister Michael Weeks. “We have seen in the past the devastating effects of complacency.”

Hurricane Ernesto is expected to reach Category 3 strength on Friday and then weaken as it approaches Bermuda, where it is expected to drop between 6 and 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) of rain, with up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) 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 was generating southerly winds in Puerto Rico, which have a heating effect in contrast to the typical cooling trade winds that blow from the east.

“We know that many people do not have electricity,” said Ernesto Morales of the national weather service, warning of extreme heat and urging people to stay hydrated.

More than 290,000 of the 1.4 million customers were still in the dark Thursday evening, more than a day after Ernesto passed through Puerto Rico late Tuesday as a tropical storm before strengthening into a hurricane. As many as 735,000 customers were without power Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of residents also suffered from water outages, with many questioning the cause of the widespread power outages, given that Ernesto was only a tropical storm when it passed over the island.

“I didn’t sleep at all. I couldn’t even shower,” said Ramon Mercedes Paredes, a 41-year-old construction worker who had planned to sleep outdoors Thursday night to beat the heat.

In a small park in the Santurce neighborhood of the capital San Juan, Alexander Reyna, a 32-year-old construction worker, was drinking a bright red sports drink given to him by friends as roosters crowed nearby over the sound of dominoes.

He had no water or electricity, and he planned to spend all day in the garden, lamenting the lack of breeze, a thin layer of sweat already forming on his forehead: “I have to come here because I can’t stand staying at home.”

The situation has alarmed many who lived through Hurricane Maria, a powerful Category 4 storm that hit Puerto Rico in September 2017 and was blamed for killing at least 2,975 people in its scorching aftermath. This destroyed the island’s power grid, which is still being rebuilt.

“It’s a mess,” he said.

Officials said they did not know when full power would be restored as concerns grew about the health of many Puerto Ricans who cannot afford generators or solar panels on an island of 3.2 million people where the poverty rate is more than 40 percent.

Rescue crews have flown more than 540 miles (870 kilometers) across Puerto Rico and identified 400 power line outages, 150 of which have already been repaired, said Juan Saca, president of Loma Energy, a private company that manages power transmission and distribution in Puerto Rico. He added that the remaining outages will take longer to fix because they involve fallen trees.

“We have not seen anything catastrophic,” he said.

Asked when power would be restored, Alejandro Gonzalez, Luma’s operations manager, declined to comment.

“It would be irresponsible to give a specific date,” he said.

At least 250,000 customers across Puerto Rico were without water due to the power outage, down from a peak of 350,000. Among them was Gisela Perez, 65, who was sweating as she cooked sweet plantains, pork, chicken and pasta at a roadside restaurant. After her shift ended, she planned to buy gallons of water, especially worried about her two small dogs, Minnie and Lazy.

“They can’t do without it,” she said. “They come first.”