SAN JUAN – More than half of all homes and businesses in Puerto Rico have been left without power, following the arrival of Storm Ernesto.
The Caribbean island’s main power supplier LUMA Energy said some 998,000 customers did not have access to electricity 03:05 EDT (07:05 GMT), according to BBC’s US partner CBS News.
Ernesto, which grew into a category 1 hurricane on Wednesday, is continuing to strengthen with gusts of up to 85mph (140km/h) heading further north towards Bermuda, where it is expected to make landfall on Friday.
Forecasters predict it could become a major hurricane in the next 48 hours.
The storm swept past Puerto Rico overnight, with up to 10in (25cm) of rain expected in some places, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.
Juan Saca, LUMA’s president and chief executive, said more than 1,500 employees were working in the field to “re-establish service” and switch the electricity back on.
“We have to evaluate what needs to be done to be able to resolve it,” he told Reuters news agency.
Puerto Rico’s power grid has been wiped out before by hurricanes. In 2022, when Hurricane Fiona hit the island, around 80% of homes and businesses were cut off for almost a month.
Ernesto is the fifth named Atlantic storm to occur this season.
Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic when it swept through the Caribbean and the Texas Gulf Coast last month, killing dozens of people and leaving millions without electricity. (BBC)…[+]

A bridge submerged by the flooded La Plata River is seen in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ernesto, in Toa Baja. (Reuters)