Hurricane Ernesto in Puerto Rico
Miami/San Juan, Aug 14 (EFE).-
On Wednesday, Ernesto became a hurricane north of Puerto Rico, threatening to flood both the island and the Virgin Islands, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Hundreds of people were sheltering Wednesday in emergency facilities set up by authorities in Puerto Rico, where roads were blocked and some rivers were overflowing after the passage of Ernesto.
Some of the hardest hit areas are the smaller islands of Vieques and Culebra, which remain under tropical storm warnings from the NHC along with the British and US Virgin Islands.
Ernesto has maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour) and is moving northwest at 26 kilometers per hour (16 miles per hour).
The NHS 11:00 am bulletin said the tropical storm was about 280 kilometers (175 miles) northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Officials in Puerto Rico are particularly concerned about the rising levels of several rivers, including the La Plata River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean off the municipality of Toa Baja.
The Toa Baja Emergency Management Agency announced that four sluice gates of the La Plata Dam will be opened and the public is advised to evacuate the municipality and the San José neighborhood because of the flooding that could result.
The National Meteorological Service in San Juan warned of flash floods in much of Puerto Rico due to torrential rains.
Hurricane Ernesto is expected to produce rainfall totals of 15 to 25 centimeters in Puerto Rico.
This is the third hurricane so far in the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1 and has produced five tropical storms: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, and Ernesto.
Of these, Beryl, Debby, and Ernesto strengthened to hurricane status with Beryl even reaching category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale and causing destruction in the Caribbean and the United States.
This Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be one of the most active and intense in decades, with the formation of up to 25 storms and 13 hurricanes. EFE
ims-mv-ics/mcd
