Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans stunned by a hurricane that knocked out power for the whole island and paralyzed the US territory with landslides, flooding and downed trees yesterday vowed to slowly rebuild amid an economic crisis as rescue crews fanned out.
The extent of the damage is unknown, given that dozens of municipalities remained isolated and without communication after Hurricane Maria hit the island on Wednesday morning as a Category 4 storm with 249.5kph winds, the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years.
Uprooted trees and widespread flooding blocked many highways and streets across the island, creating a maze that forced drivers to go against traffic and past police cars that used loudspeakers to warn people they must respect a 6pm to 6am curfew imposed by the governor to ensure everyone’s safety.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“This is going to be a historic event for Puerto Rico,” said Abner Gomez, the island’s emergency management director.
US President Donald Trump approved a federal disaster declaration for Puerto Rico.
Previously a Category 5 storm with 281kph winds, Maria hit Puerto Rico as the third-strongest storm to make landfall in the US, based on its central pressure. It was even stronger than Hurricane Irma, which roared into the Florida Keys earlier this month.
In the capital of San Juan, towering eucalyptus trees fell nearly every other block over a main road dotted with popular bars, restaurants and coffee shops, some of which were damaged.
Outside a nearby apartment building, 40-year-old tourism company operator Adrian Pacheco recounted how he spent eight hours in a stairwell huddled with 100 other residents when the hurricane ripped the storm shutters off his building and decimated three balconies.
“I think people didn’t expect the storm to reach the point that it did,” Pacheco said. “Since Irma never really happened, they thought Maria would be the same.”
Hurricane Irma sideswiped Puerto Rico on Sept. 6, leaving more than 1 million people without power, but causing no deaths or widespread damage like it did on nearby islands.
However, Maria blew out windows at some hospitals and police stations, turned some streets into roaring rivers and destroyed hundreds of homes across Puerto Rico, including 80 percent of houses in a small fishing community near San Juan Bay, which unleashed a storm surge of more than 1.2m.
The sound of chainsaws began to fill the silence that spread across San Juan late on Wednesday afternoon as firefighters began to remove trees and used small bulldozers to lift toppled concrete light posts.
Maria has caused at least 10 deaths across the Caribbean, including seven in the hard-hit island of Dominica and two in the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe.
Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello told CNN one man died after being hit by flying debris.
No further details were available, and officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Maria weakened to a Category 2 storm later in the day, but restrengthened to Category 3 status early yesterday with winds of 185kph. It was centered about 110km north of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and moving northwest at 15kph.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source