More than 100,000 utility customers were without power in Puerto Rico as Category 3 Hurricane Erin batters the Caribbean, bringing heavy rainfall and gusty winds to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
As NBC News reports, Luma Energy, Puerto Rico’s private power grid operator, said late Sunday afternoon that most of its customers on the island have working electricity. “As of 5:00 p.m., 92.5% of customers have electrical service,” it said on X. “The majority of affected customers are concentrated in the regions of Arecibo, Caguas, and San Juan, as the rain bands have been moving out of Puerto Rico.”
The utility added: “Our crews are working with precision to ensure safety and continuity of service.” Earlier it said the storm caused “multiple interruptions across the island.”
Meanwhile, two divers who were swept away by dangerous surf near St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands had to be rescued by local crews on Sunday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Video of the rescue by St. Croix Rescue Chief Jason Henry showed the divers being pulled onto a boat.
As the hurricane center warned residents and visitors of North Carolina’s Outer Banks to monitor the storm midweek, officials in coastal Dare County declared a state of emergency effective Sunday evening and ordered the evacuation of Hatteras Island starting Monday morning.
Dare County Emergency Management said in a statement that coastal flooding was possible with Tuesday evening’s high tide. It said high surf is likely to trigger a full closure of beaches along the county coast except for surfers using traditional boards. “Extreme beach and coastal damage is likely along the oceanside, resulting in a significant threat to life and property,” the agency said.
On the island of Sint Maarten, video showed palm trees swaying in strong winds Saturday. Cleanup crews have been clearing debris around the country since Sunday morning, its government said on Facebook, adding that Sargassum seaweed has washed up ashore as a result of Erin’s impacts. A large amount of the seaweed reaching the shore is referred to as a “Sargassum inundation event,” which can result in harmful toxins that affect people and marine life, according to the National Ocean Service.
A volatile storm, Erin has been fluctuating in intensity over the past several days. On Friday it rapidly exploded from a Category 2 storm to a massive Category 5 overnight, but then downgraded to a Cat 3 as it made landfall Sunday morning. Now the storm is expected to strengthen yet again.
Outer bands continue to sweep over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds. Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches, with up to 6 inches likely in some areas, will be possible and could lead to flash flooding or mudslides. As of 5 p.m. ET Sunday, Erin was 275 miles north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. It is moving west-northwest at around 13 mph.
At a news briefing Sunday morning, Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón advised residents to stay home if possible. While there are no reports of flooding on the island so far, the worst weather is expected to impact the region within the next six hours, officials said at the briefing. González-Colón said that there were no residents in shelters and no reports of flooding so far but that flash flooding remains a concern.
Luma Energy advised the public to avoid walking or driving through flooded areas, especially near downed power lines.
The hurricane is forecast to strengthen in the next two days before taking a northerly turn on Monday and Tuesday. Its core is expected to pass by the east of Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas on Sunday night and Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm is then forecast to gradually weaken through the middle and latter half of the workweek as it passes between the U.S. and Bermuda.
“Some fluctuation in intensity are likely over the next couple of days, but Erin is expected to remain a dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week,” the hurricane center said in an update Sunday.
Tropical storm warnings have been issued in Turks and Caicos and the southeast Bahamas, according to the hurricane center. On Sunday, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoy 335 nautical miles east of the Bahamas’ San Salvador Island measured wave heights of 20.3 feet.
The storm is also expected to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents to the East Coast during the week.
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