Ernesto Leaves Hundreds of Thousands in Puerto Rico Without Power as It Barrels Toward Bermuda

Hurricane Ernesto left about a third of Puerto Rico’s residents without power on Thursday as it strengthened to become a Category 1 hurricane and barreled toward Bermuda, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous storm surge.

On Thursday morning, the storm was approximately 600 miles from Bermuda and crawling toward the island at about 13.8 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center, as reported by Reuters. A hurricane warning has been issued.

“[S]ome continued gradual strengthening is possible in the next day or so,” the hurricane center said of the fifth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. “Ernesto is expected to approach Bermuda late Friday and be near the island Saturday and Saturday night. A prolonged period of strong winds and storm surge is expected on Bermuda beginning late Friday, and a hurricane warning is in effect for the island. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to Completion.”

Heavy rain and winds lashed Puerto Rico, causing downed power lines, flooded roadways and destroyed residences and vehicles. Roughly 470,000 homes and businesses were without electricity as of Thursday morning, according to the island’s main power company LUMA Energy.

“This shows how fragile the electrical system is, seven years after Hurricane Maria,” said Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz, mayor of the small town of Villalba, which was left completely without power, as reported by The New York Times. “In my town, we had a lot of rain, but there was not significant wind.”

Ernesto was predicted to move north toward Canada up the East Coast, bringing life-threatening rip currents and surf, the hurricane center said.

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Ernesto is the latest in an already busy Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Beryl was the second named storm of the season and the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic. Hurricane Debby — a Category 1 — hit the Gulf Coast of Florida before moving north to the Carolinas, where it brought as much as two feet of rainfall.

At least 350,000 of Puerto Rico’s residents were also without water Thursday, The Associated Press reported.

“I haven’t slept at all,” said 41-year-old Ramón Mercedes Paredes, a construction worker who was planning to sleep outdoors Thursday night because of the heat, as reported by The Associated Press. “I haven’t even been able to take a shower.”

President and chief executive of LUMA Juan Saca said crews were assessing power lines to see if they had just been brushed by vegetation or knocked out fully, which would mean longer repairs, The New York Times reported.

Executives from LUMA said it was too soon to tell when power could be restored.

Hurricane Maria knocked out all of Puerto Rico’s electricity in 2017, exposing the antiquated power grid’s vulnerabilities. Some on the island did not have power for over a year.

Puerto Rico’s aging power grid has suffered from historic mismanagement, lack of maintenance and corruption. None of the power plants were damaged by Ernesto, said the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority — the bankrupt public utility that remained responsible for power generation after LUMA took over transmission and distribution of electricity in 2021.

Electricity costs in Puerto Rico are roughly 40 percent more than those of the average customer in the United States, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

Concerns were mounting for the health of many on the island who could not afford solar panels or generators, reported The Associated Press. The U.S. territory is home to 3.2 million people and has a greater than 40 percent poverty rate.

Fifty-year-old Faustino Peguero expressed concern for his wife, who suffers from heart failure, fibromyalgia and other health issues that require electricity. They have a small generator but are running out of gas and cannot afford more as Peguero has not been able to find work.

Gisela Pérez, a 65-year-old diner worker, planned to purchase gallons of water especially for her dogs Mini and Lazy.

“They cannot go without it,” Pérez said, as The Associated Press reported. “They come first.”