Hurricane Maria Live Updates: In

Puerto Rico, the Storm Destroyed

Us
By THE NEW YORK TIMESUPDATED 7:47 PM

Continue reading the main storyShare This Page

Share

Tweet

Email

More

Save

38

Photo
Rubble atop a car in the Puerta de Tierra area of San Juan, P.R., on Thursday.CreditErika P.
Rodriguez for The New York Times
Daybreak in Puerto Rico on Thursday exposed the crushing devastation
wrought by Hurricane Maria splintered homes, crumbled balconies,
uprooted trees and floodwaters coursing through streets.

The storm cut a path through the island on Wednesday and 100 percent of
the territory remained without power. Officials predicted that it could take
months to restore electricity as rescue brigades ventured out to assess the toll
of death and injury.

Puerto Rico faces numerous obstacles as it begins to emerge from the storm:
the weight of an extended debt and bankruptcy crisis; a recovery process
begun after Irma, which killed at least three people and left nearly 70 percent
of households without power; the difficulty of getting to an island far from the
mainland; and the strain on relief efforts by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and other groups already spread thin in the wake of
several recent storms.

Irma gave us a break, but Maria destroyed us, Edwin Serrano, a

construction worker in Old San Juan, said.

Maria had entered Puerto Ricos southeast side on Wednesday with category
4 winds of 155 miles per hour, then lost strength, regained power Thursday
and continued its furious roll northward, bringing pounding rains and heavy
winds to the Dominican Republic.

Officials cautioned that it could deliver dangerous storm surges to the

Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, which were already reeling from the effects
of Hurricane Irma.

Most predictions suggested that Maria would veer north and spare the
mainland United States. But officials cautioned that the East Coast was still
not out of danger and even absent the storms main fury, coastal areas could
still feel its effects this weekend with heavy rains and dangerous gales.

Maps: Hurricane Marias Path Across Puerto Rico

Real-time map showing the position and forecast for Hurricane Maria, and the storms
impact in Puerto Rico.
Heres the latest:

Maria passed close to the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic on

Thursday morning as a Category 3 storm. Hurricane warnings were in effect
for parts of that country as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands and the
southeastern Bahamas.

Flash flood warnings covered the entirety of Puerto Rico on Thursday.

Forecasters say Puerto Rico will see about two feet of rain by Friday, with as
much as 35 inches in places. Storm surges were expected to raise water levels
by as much as six feet in the Dominican Republic.

There is significant concern about the expected life-threatening storm

surge of nine to 12 feet in the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas, according
to Michael Brennan of the National Hurricane Center.

The death toll from Hurricane Maria has risen to at least 15 on the small
Caribbean island of Dominica, according to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.
Two people were also killed on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe,
officials said.

Gov. Ricardo Rossell told CNN late Wednesday that officials knew of only
one fatality in Puerto Rico..

President Trump said Thursday that he would visit Puerto Rico, but gave no
details on the timing of the trip.

In the United States Virgin Islands, Gov. Kenneth E. Mapp announced a 24-
hour curfew for all four islands until further notice. In Puerto Rico, Gov.
Rossell had previously set a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew effective until Saturday.
Photo

Facing the damage on Wednesday in Roseau, on Dominica. A government spokesman said

Hurricane Maria had killed 14 people on the island nation. CreditAgence France-Presse
Getty Images
Sign up for the Morning Briefing for hurricane news and a daily look at what
you need to know to begin your day. Follow the storms path with our maps.

Restoring power is a priority in Puerto Rico.

Photo
San Juan, P.R., was plunged into darkness on Wednesday after Hurricane Maria made
landfall. CreditAlex Wroblewski/Getty Images
Jenniffer Gonzlez-Coln, Puerto Ricos nonvoting member of the House of
Representatives, told CNN on Thursday that the island appeared to have been
devastated, with power lines lying on the ground and rivers flowing over
bridges.

Ms. Gonzlez-Coln, who spent much of the hurricane in a closet, said

restoring power was crucial, but added that the governor had estimated that
it could take a month or more to get electricity back for the whole island. She
suggested that without electricity, many of the pumps that supplied residents
with running water would not be functioning.

A Category 4 storm had not made landfall on Puerto Rico since 1932. Smaller
towns and more rural areas, many full of wooden houses with zinc roofs, were
difficult to reach after the storm, but widespread damage was reported.
Mayor Flix Delgado of Catao, on the northern coast, told a San Juan radio
station that the storm had destroyed 80 percent of the homes in the Juana
Matos neighborhood, which had been evacuated.
 Ricardo Ramos, the chief executive of the government-owned Puerto Rico
Electric Power Authority, told CNN on Thursday that the islands power
infrastructure had been basically destroyed.

Mr. Ramos said that residents would need to adjust to a new way of life,
changing how they cooked and how they cooled off. He said that adjustments
would be particularly difficult for a younger generation that had grown up
playing with electronic devices and taking power for granted.

Its a good time for dads to buy a ball and a glove and change the way you
entertain your children, he said.

A seaside area is smashed by the storm.

Photo

A fallen sculpture in San Juan, P.R., on Thursday. CreditErika P. Rodriguez for The New
York Times
Residents and business owners in the Condado area of San Juan began to
trickle into the streets on Thursday to assess the havoc. Joggers ran past what
resembled a beachside battlefield. Bikers pedaled slowly, taking in the
overwhelming damage.
 Condado, the tourist district of the island which has seen a reawakening of
sorts with the opening of new hotels and restaurant chains over the last
couple of years, was ravaged. Windows were blown out in the apartment
buildings and hotels that line the promenade. A restaurant lost its roof.
Parque del Indio, a popular seaside park for skaters and joggers, was
blanketed with sand and water.

Its total destruction, said Angie Mok, a property manager. This will be a
renaissance.

Ms. Moks fourth-floor seaside apartment had been destroyed. Her apartment
had no shutters, and the wind rattled her belongings, while ankle-high water
soaked the floors.

Carmen Gonzlez, 58, a marketing manager for a real estate company, also
ventured out on Thursday. The country is paralyzed its like a war zone,
Ms. Gonzlez wrote in Spanish in a text message. This has been devastating.
The whole of Condado is full of obstacles.

In Old San Juan, which like most of the island was without reliable cell
service, people were thirsty for information. At Plaza de Armas, residents sat
on benches and stoops to share what information they had. Those with radios
were tuning in to the only station broadcasting in the entire island.

Cristina Cardalda, 55, had just gotten her first phone call since Maria hit it
was her cousin in Florida checking in. I havent heard anything from
anyone, she said.

California Today
The news and stories that matter to Californians (and anyone else interested in the
state), delivered weekday mornings.

Sign Up

SEE SAMPLE

PRIVACY POLICY

OPT OUT OR CONTACT US ANYTIME

 Family members on the mainland are desperately seeking
information.

For Puerto Ricans living on the United States mainland, the tragic news
coming from the island has been magnified by the fact that many of them
have been unable to get in touch with friends and relatives, given the sharp
blow that Hurricane Maria dealt to the islands communications
infrastructure.

Were all anxious, were all desperately seeking information and were all on
call to help Puerto Rico and give it whatever it needs, said David Galarza
Santa, 48, a Brooklyn resident who said he has been unable to reach his
family in the municipality of Florida, west of San Juan, since noon
Wednesday.

But Mr. Galarza was optimistic that his family there, including his father and
two older sisters, were doing well, in part because they had all hunkered
down at his fathers sturdy cement house. He also noted that Puerto Ricans
were old hands when it came to surviving devastating storms.

More than five million Puerto Ricans live on the mainland, more than the
population of the island itself, and the worry and stress were widely shared
Thursday among those watching from afar. It was a feeling of impotence,
said Eliezer Vlez, 44, of Atlanta.

Mr. Vlez, who works for the Atlanta-based Latin American Association, said
that he was hoping to get in touch with his mother, two brothers and a
number of uncles and cousins. He said a sister who lives on the island was
able to send him a message through WhatsApp on Thursday morning; she
relayed that everyone was O.K.

Were praying for them and hoping for the best, Mr. Vlez said. Its really
sad that youre here, but your mind and your heart are on the island. We are
here, but we belong there. I cannot describe the frustration that Im not
there.

Puerto Rico is in perilous shape, Trump says.

EXTREME WEATHER By CHRIS CIRILLO, NATALIA V. OSIPOVA, SARAH STEIN KERR and BARBARA
MARCOLINI 1:46Puerto Rico Flooded by Hurricane Maria

Video
Puerto Rico Flooded by Hurricane Maria
All regions of Puerto Rico battled floodwaters as Hurricane Maria regained major
hurricane status off the coast of the Dominican Republic.
 By CHRIS CIRILLO, NATALIA V. OSIPOVA, SARAH STEIN KERR and BARBARA
MARCOLINI on Publish DateSeptember 19, 2017. Photo by Carlos Garcia
Rawlins/Reuters. Watch in Times Video

Embed

Share

Tweet

Puerto Rico was absolutely obliterated, President Trump said during a

meeting with President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine at the United Nations in
New York on Thursday.

Their electrical grid is destroyed, Mr. Trump added. It wasnt in good

shape to start off with. But their electrical grid is totally destroyed. And so
many other things.

Mr. Trump has declared Puerto Rico a disaster area, and said he was
consulting with Governor Rossell and federal officials about the recovery
effort. We are going to start it with great gusto, he said. But its in very,
very, very perilous shape. Very sad what happened to Puerto Rico.

Despite the challenges his island faces, Governor Rossell said on Twitterthat
we will come out of this stronger than ever.

Follow

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Governor @RicardoRossello-
We are with you and the people of Puerto Rico. Stay safe! #PRStrong
5:13 AM - Sep 21, 2017

5,0655,065 Replies

8,5748,574 Retweets


40,40840,408 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

The White House has also declared the United States Virgin Islands a disaster
area, to make federal funding available for residents of St. Croix.

On the damage in the Virgin Islands, Mr. Trump said, All you have to do is
take a look at a picture. They are flattened. Areas around there have been
flattened.

Dominica grapples with widespread destruction.

Continue reading the main story

Continue reading the main story
Aerial footage shows the destruction in Dominica from Hurricane Maria.
Regional Security System, via Storyful
Mr. Skerrit, the prime minister, called the damage from the storm
unprecedented in an interview with a television station on the nearby island
of Antigua on Thursday. He gave a death toll of 15, but warned the number
may rise, as at least 20 people were still missing and dozens of villages had
yet to be assessed.

We have many deaths but it is just a miracle that we do not have hundreds of
deaths in the country, Mr. Skerrit said. Because when you look at the
destruction, people were in those homes.

The storm made landfall there on Monday, bringing with it winds of up to 155
miles per hour. Aerial views of the island showed houses and businesses torn
apart by the storm.

Mr. Skerrit described almost complete devastation: power and water have
been cut across the island, communications are nearly impossible, schools
have been destroyed and the main hospital is without electricity. Indigenous
villages on the countrys east coast have yet to be assessed, and he said it
would be a miracle if there was no loss of life there.

Mr. Skerrit said residents had taken the risk seriously, and many evacuated to
shelters before the storm hit, which mitigated the loss of life. Many displaced
residents are still in shelters and some are staying with neighbors in the few
homes that would have survived, but many do not know where to spend the
night, he added.
 Mr. Skerrit will travel to New York on Friday to meet with international
leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.

St. Croix, a center of earlier relief efforts, now needs help.

Photo

Supplies for those affected by Hurricane Irma in St. Thomas were loaded onto a boat in
Christiansted, St. Croix, on Sunday. CreditChip Somodevilla/Getty Images,
Emily Weston, a businesswoman who lives on the outskirts of Frederiksted
on St. Croix, said that she and her boyfriend weathered Hurricane Maria at
home on Tuesday, moving from room to room before eventually seeking
shelter under a piece of plywood.

You hear all this stuff banging into the side of the house, and you hear the
roof vibrating and moving through the night, but it held, she said. It was
terrifying. I was scared.

Her house fared better than many others that lost windows and roofs as the
center of the storm passed just south of the island. Ms. Weston added that St.
Croix which pitched in to help St. Thomas and St. John after they were
devastated by Hurricane Irma this month would need outside aid.
 A lot of people had stocked up for Irma, and after Irma spared St. Croix,
everyone gave their supplies to St. Thomas, she said. So there is a concern
on the island that we wont have enough now in the short term.

Hurricane Maria was kinder to St. Thomas and St. John, both of which have
been struggling to recover from Irma. Still, St. Thomas was hit with heavy
rain and flooding.

We were really pretty crippled from Irma, said Adrien Austin, who owns a
car rental company there. We had a lot of rain significantly more than
Irma.

Infrastructure-wise, it definitely set us back a couple weeks, he added.

Were right back to disaster-relief impotency.

38 COMMENTS
He added that the many residents whose roofs had been ripped off by Irma
were particularly hard hit. Though he expects the island to be without
electricity for months to come, he believes the tourism industry will recover
soon.

We will rebuild quickly, he said.

Luis Ferr-Sadurn reported from San Juan, P.R.; Frances Robles from Miami;
Richard Fausset from Atlanta; Freeman Rogers from Road Town, B.V.I.; Austin
Ramzy from Hong Kong; and Stephanie Saul, Jonah Engel Bromwich and Matt
Stevens from New York.

Continue reading the main story

RELATED COVERAGE
1.

Maria Strikes, and Puerto Rico Goes DarkSEPT. 20, 2017

2.
 Islands Seek International Funding for Hurricane
Recovery SEPT. 19, 2017

3.

The 2017 Hurricane Season Really Is More Intense Than

Normal SEPT. 19, 2017

TRENDING
1.

Hurricane Maria Live Updates: In Puerto Rico, the Storm

Destroyed Us

2.
 Insurers Come Out Swinging Against New Republican
Health Care Bill

3.

The Voyages Issue: How Do Families Around the World

Spend Their Vacations?

4.

Op-Ed Columnist: Are We Down to President Pence?

5.

Maria Strikes, and Puerto Rico Goes Dark

6.
 Mueller Seeks White House Documents Related to
Trumps Actions as President

7.

Contributing Op-Ed Writer: Get Rid of Equifax

8.

Op-Ed Columnist: So, a President Walks Up to a

Microphone...

9.

Liliane Bettencourt, LOral Heiress Vexed by Swindling

Case, Is Dead at 94
10.

Monsantos Weed Killer, Dicamba, Divides Farmers

View More Trending Stories

What's Next
Loading...
Go to Home Page
SITE INDEXTHE NEW YORK TIMES
Site Index Navigation
NEWS

World

U.S.

Politics

N.Y.

Business

Tech

Science

Health

Sports

Education

Obituaries
 Today's Paper

Corrections
OPINION

Today's Opinion

Op-Ed Columnists

Editorials

Op-Ed Contributors

Letters

Sunday Review

Video: Opinion
ARTS

Today's Arts

Art & Design

Books

Dance

Movies

Music

N.Y.C. Events Guide

Television

Theater

Video: Arts
LIVING

Automobiles
 Crossword

Food

Education

Fashion & Style

Health

Jobs

Magazine

N.Y.C. Events Guide

Real Estate

T Magazine

Travel

Weddings & Celebrations

LISTINGS & MORE

Reader Center

Classifieds

Tools & Services

N.Y.C. Events Guide

Multimedia

Photography

Video

NYT Store

Times Journeys

Subscribe
 Manage My Account

NYTCo
SUBSCRIBE

Home Delivery

Digital Subscriptions

Crossword

Email Newsletters

Alerts

Gift Subscriptions

Corporate Subscriptions

Education Rate

Mobile Applications

Replica Edition
Site Information Navigation
2017 The New York Times Company

Home
Search
Accessibility concerns? Email us at accessibility@nytimes.com. We
would love to hear from you.

Contact Us

Work With Us

Advertise

Your Ad Choices

Privacy
 Terms of Service

Terms of Sale

Site Information Navigation

Site Map

Help

Site Feedback

Subscriptions

Go to the next story