Ernesto leaves hundreds of thousands of people without power and water in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power and water in Puerto Rico as Hurricane Ernesto strengthened after passing north of the American territory on Wednesday morning.

LUMA Energy, the private company that operates the island’s electrical grid, reported that more than 700,000 customers — or almost half the island — were without power as of Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, about 304,000 customers of the water supply system had no service.

The storm, though it was not a full-fledged hurricane when it passed by the island, is the latest natural disaster to cause widespread utility disruptions in Puerto Rico. The vulnerable power grid has been weakened by hurricanes and earthquakes over the last decade. In turn, potable water largely depends on generators and electric pumps to run.

Asked by a reporter how long it would take for service disruptions to be resolved, a top LUMA official said Wednesday evening that critical infrastructure such as hospitals had their lights turned back on, but added it was “very difficult” to estimate when power will be restored island-wide until assessments are finished.

“There is no way to give you a date,” he said. Officials said that Thursday’s milder weather should be favorable for power restoration, including flying helicopters to power lines in remote locations.

The power company said in a statement that the largest impact had been in the central and eastern parts of the island and that it had dispatched workers to restore electricity. Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said at an afternoon press conference that the interruptions in water services are related to sediment or debris blocking pipelines or to generators not working properly.

The National Hurricane Center has discontinued the tropical storm warning for Puerto Rico, but its outer bands continued to dump rain on the island.

Ernesto poured torrential rains on Puerto Rico between Tuesday night and Wednesday, with some locations receiving as much as 10 inches. The storm blocked roads, felled trees and power lines, overflowed rivers, and triggered mudslides in mountainous areas. In parts of the municipality of Toa Baja on Puerto Rico’s northern coast, alarms blared Wednesday morning to alert residents who live near the La Plata river that they needed to evacuate because of rising water.

The storm also produced strong winds across Puerto Rico. In the offshore municipality of Culebra, where the roof of at least one home was torn off, instruments recorded an 80 mpg gust. In the Central town of Barranquitas another home lost its roof, according to social media reports.

San Juan’s international airport faced dozens of cancellations on Wednesday, though it has resumed operations. Pierluisi said the disruptions could cause further delays. There were also 229 people in storm shelters, about 200 fewer than earlier in the day.

Ernesto Rodriguez, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Juan, said that Thursday would be extremely hot, and voiced concerns for people not having power or working on cleaning up and repairing their homes. There will be more rainfall too, and though it will be limited, it could threaten to further overflow already swollen rivers and inundate areas where the ground is already saturated.

President Biden approved Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for Puerto Rico, the island’s officials said, in case they are necessary. That could include emergency generators and assistance for the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra.