TOA BAJA, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Ernesto dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and knocked out power for nearly half of all customers in the U.S. territory Wednesday as it threatened to become a major storm en route to Bermuda.
The hurricane was over open water about 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) south-southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and moving northwest at 16 mph (26 kph). A hurricane watch was issued for Bermuda, while tropical storm warnings were discontinued for Puerto Rico and its outlying islands of Vieques and Culebra and for the U.S.
and British Virgin Islands. “I know it was a long night listening to that wind howl,” U.S.
Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said in a news conference.
An islandwide blackout was reported in St. Croix, and at least six cell phone towers were offline across the U.S.
territory, said Daryl Jaschen, emergency management director. He added that the airports in St. Croix and St.
Thomas were expected to reopen at midday. Schools and government agencies remained closed in the U.S.
and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where heavy flooding was reported in several areas, forcing officials to block roads, some of which were strewn with trees. More than 140 flights were canceled to and from Puerto Rico. “A lot of rain, a lot of rain,” Culebra Mayor Edilberto Romero said in a phone interview.
“We have trees that have fallen on public roads. There are some roofs that are blown off.” Fla.