Jim Wyss, Bloomberg News

SAN JUAN
EnergiesNet.com 09 19 2022

Power is slowly being restored to parts of Puerto Rico Sunday after Atlantic storm Fiona clipped the island as a Category 1 hurricane, knocking out electricity to the entire US territory and causing “catastrophic damage,” Governor Pedro Pierluisi said. 

Packing sustained winds of 85 mph and dumping massive amounts of rain on the island, the storm damaged a bridge, washed away and blocked roads, downed power lines and sent more than 1,000 people to emergency shelters. There were no immediate reports of storm-related deaths, though communications and travel were hampered by the heavy rain and wind. 

“The entire situation is delicate and sad,” Pierluisi said during a press conference, pleading with people to stay home. 

Josue Colon, the executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or Prepa, said the storm had triggered an automatic shutdown at power plants that cut electricity to the entire island of 3.1 million people. But those generators were coming back on line late Sunday, and workers were prioritizing restoring energy to hospitals and critical infrastructure.

A generator failure at the island’s flagship cancer center required the evacuation of several patients, officials said. 

bloomberg.com 09 18 2022