As Tropical Storm Ernesto gets stronger, it targets Puerto Rico while pounding the Northeast Caribbean.
Puerto Rico’s San Juan—As Tropical Storm Ernesto made landfall in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, authorities there shuttered schools, set up shelters, and relocated scores of the island’s threatened parrots into hurricane-proof rooms.
As Ernesto’s center approaches Bermuda from about northeast of Puerto Rico, it is predicted to intensify into a hurricane by late Tuesday. A hurricane watch was issued by forecasters for the British Virgin Islands, the United States, and the small, tourist-friendly Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami stated that a hurricane watch is still in effect since there is a possibility that Ernesto will strengthen into a hurricane when it is close to the Virgin Islands. tropical depression hurricane Center in Miami said. Tropical storm warnings were in place for Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, St. Martin, St. Barts and St. Maarten
The storm’s center is expected to pass over the U.S. Virgin Islands on Tuesday evening and pass just northeast and north of Puerto Rico late Tuesday and early Wednesday. It is then expected to move into open waters and be near Bermuda on Friday.
The storm’s center is expected to pass over the U.S. Virgin Islands on Tuesday evening and pass just northeast and north of Puerto Rico late Tuesday and early Wednesday. It is then expected to move into open waters and be near Bermuda on Friday.
Heavy rains began pelting Puerto Rico, and strong winds churned the ocean into a milky turquoise as people rushed to finish securing homes and businesses.
“I’m hoping it will go away quickly,” said José Rodríguez, 36, as he climbed on the roof of his uncle’s wooden shack in the Afro-Caribbean community of Piñones on Puerto Rico’s north coast to secure the business famous for its fried street food.
Ernesto was about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east-southeast of St. Thomas late Tuesday afternoon. It had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 18 mph (30 kph).
“We are going to have a lot of rain,” Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said as he urged people to be indoors by early Tuesday evening.
He activated the National Guard as crews across the island visited flood-prone areas and older residents as part of last-minute preparations. Meanwhile, Department of Natural Resources officials who work at breeding centers for the island’s only remaining native parrot, the Puerto Rico Amazon, moved them indoors.
Be the first to comment