Nearly a million people reported without power in Puerto Rico due to storm Ernesto

One million people without power.

Road closures due to flooding.

Ernesto brings hurricane-force winds.

Nearly one million people are without power in Puerto Rico this Wednesday due to the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto across the eastern part of the island.

The storm also caused road closures due to flooding and gusts of wind reaching the potential of a Category 1 hurricane.

At 06:30 (10:30 GMT) local time, LUMA Energy, the company in charge of the transmission and distribution of electricity in Puerto Rico.

Reported on its website that more than 318,000 customers, including homes and businesses, were without electricity across the island.

Authorities seek to restore service after Hurricane Ernesto

One million people without power – PHOTO: NOAA via AP

This equates to more than 950,000 people. This number is expected to increase as the storm moves north across Puerto Rico and into the Atlantic Ocean.

«LUMA personnel continue to actively monitor service disruptions caused by Tropical Storm Ernesto, which continues to impact the electrical system,» LUMA stated.

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«As part of our Emergency Response Plan, we will conduct field inspections as soon as it is safe for our teams,» it indicated.

And according to this plan, the company’s priority «is to restore service to critical loads including hospitals, Aqueduct and Sewer facilities, and other essential services.»

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service (NWS) in San Juan issued several flash flood warnings for various municipalities in Puerto Rico until at least 11:00 (15:00 GMT).

According to radars, as of now, around 2 inches (5 centimeters) have fallen at some points on the island, thus causing flooding.

Hurricane Ernesto is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of between 6 and 10 inches (15-25 centimeters) in Puerto Rico, according to EFE.

According to the latest bulletin from the NHC at 05:00 (09:00 GMT), Ernesto had maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (113 km/h).

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PHOTO: MundoNOW