Million hit with power cut after hurricane
Source: Agencies |
August 23, 2011, Tuesday
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HURRICANE Irene cut power to more than a million people in Puerto Rico, bringing down trees and flooding streets yesterday as forecasters warned it could threaten the US states of Florida and South Carolina by the end of the week.
There were no reports of deaths or major injuries in Puerto Rico, but Governor Luis Fortuno declared a state of emergency and urged people to stay indoors.
He said: "This is not the time to go out to find out what happened."
The first hurricane of the Atlantic storm season posed an immediate threat to the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic, though the center of the hurricane was expected to miss neighboring Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola.
Nearly 600,000 Haitians are still homeless after the January 2010 earthquake and that country could still see heavy rain and tropical storm winds, according to Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The center forecast that Irene could grow into a category 3 hurricane with winds of 184 kilometers per hour over the Bahamas on Thursday. It may carry that force northwest along Florida's Atlantic coast and towards South Carolina.
A hurricane warning was issued yesterday for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas.
Authorities in Palm Beach County directed staffe to stop routine operations yesterday and switch their efforts to storm preparations, including checks on generators and communications equipment.
"Hurricane preparations are pretty much the order of the day," said Mike Geier, radiological emergency preparedness planner. "We go through a pretty extensive checklist. It is probably three pages long."
Officials in Charleston, South Carolina, warned residents to monitor Irene closely. It has been six years since a hurricane hit the South Carolina coast, according to Joe Farmer of the state Emergency Management Division.
Hurricane Irene was centered about 115km northeast of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic late yesterday morning and was moving west-northwest at 20 kph with sustained winds of 130 kph.
In Puerto Rico, crews were clearing streets and assessing the damage but the governor and other officials gave no indication when power would be restored. Schools, most government offices and many businesses remained closed. Flights were expected to resume at the international airport in San Juan by mid-morning.
Dozens of people in San Juan sought emergency shelter ahead of Irene and authorities rescued 150 tourists from outlying islands as the storm approached.
The storm hit the coastal town of Humacao, but emergency management regional director Orlando Diaz said the damage seemed to be less than he feared. "We thought things were going to be a bit more tragic," he said.
There were no reports of deaths or major injuries in Puerto Rico, but Governor Luis Fortuno declared a state of emergency and urged people to stay indoors.
He said: "This is not the time to go out to find out what happened."
The first hurricane of the Atlantic storm season posed an immediate threat to the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic, though the center of the hurricane was expected to miss neighboring Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola.
Nearly 600,000 Haitians are still homeless after the January 2010 earthquake and that country could still see heavy rain and tropical storm winds, according to Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The center forecast that Irene could grow into a category 3 hurricane with winds of 184 kilometers per hour over the Bahamas on Thursday. It may carry that force northwest along Florida's Atlantic coast and towards South Carolina.
A hurricane warning was issued yesterday for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas.
Authorities in Palm Beach County directed staffe to stop routine operations yesterday and switch their efforts to storm preparations, including checks on generators and communications equipment.
"Hurricane preparations are pretty much the order of the day," said Mike Geier, radiological emergency preparedness planner. "We go through a pretty extensive checklist. It is probably three pages long."
Officials in Charleston, South Carolina, warned residents to monitor Irene closely. It has been six years since a hurricane hit the South Carolina coast, according to Joe Farmer of the state Emergency Management Division.
Hurricane Irene was centered about 115km northeast of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic late yesterday morning and was moving west-northwest at 20 kph with sustained winds of 130 kph.
In Puerto Rico, crews were clearing streets and assessing the damage but the governor and other officials gave no indication when power would be restored. Schools, most government offices and many businesses remained closed. Flights were expected to resume at the international airport in San Juan by mid-morning.
Dozens of people in San Juan sought emergency shelter ahead of Irene and authorities rescued 150 tourists from outlying islands as the storm approached.
The storm hit the coastal town of Humacao, but emergency management regional director Orlando Diaz said the damage seemed to be less than he feared. "We thought things were going to be a bit more tragic," he said.
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