Hurricane Ernesto approaches Puerto Rico causing power outages and heavy rains

Tropical Storm Ernesto is approaching Puerto Rico and the consequences of this new storm, that became a hurricane during Wednesday afternoon, have not taken long to be noticed.

Since Tuesday night on the Caribbean island, as well as in other nearby places, there have been significant power outages and heavy rains, as reported by the National Hurricane Center through a publication in X:

As of 8 a.m. (local time), the storm was arriving accompanied by maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (just a few miles short of what is needed to be hurricane strength). Its center, reported CNN, was about 125 miles northwest of San Juan after passing through the Virgin Islands and passing very close to Puerto Rico.

These islands, however, have not been spared from the hurricane's aftermath as both Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands citizens faced strong winds with speeds in excess of 74 mph.

This prompted President Joe Biden to declare a state of emergency in Puerto Rico on Tuesday night. An exceptional situation that will allow the government to deploy the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which will be responsible for providing resources to Puerto Ricans in need. In addition, they will be able to use up to 75% of federal funding to deal with the effects of this storm.

That funding will be useful to fix the electrical system, heavily damaged since Hurricane Maria passed through Puerto Rico in 2017 and which has not yet been fully repaired.

According to data provided by LUMA Energy, Ernesto has left a total of 300,000 customers without power on the Caribbean island.

Along with the problems with the power grid, there were also heavy rains that bring the risk of flooding. Faced with this, the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, has called on the National Guard and urged the population to take shelter in their homes.

Along with this, the closure of all public schools was announced and about 80 shelters were opened. In addition, endangered parrots were also moved to hurricane-proof locations to prevent them from being harmed.

The US Virgin Islands have also had power outages and, as reported by PowerOutage.us, a total of 46,000 said they were without power in their homes. A figure that, the specialized website noted, represents 92% of those monitored on the island.

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not the only regions that are on alert for the arrival of Ernesto. Flood warnings were also issued for the islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John as well as the islands of Vieques and Culebra.

These areas will remain on alert for the next few days as Ernesto is expected to continue its path through the Caribbean until at least this weekend.