Puerto Rico: Hurricane Fiona Causes Territory-Wide Blackout, Flooding

"A grid failure of the already fragile power system sent over a million residents into a blackout state Sunday."

"A fragile power grid in Puerto Rico in the path of Hurricane Fiona has created an island-wide crisis, as the territory's electrical system went completely out of service due to Fiona, Governor Pedro Pierluisi announced.

On Sunday afternoon, a transmission grid knocked out 1.4-million tracked residents of the island, according to PowerOutage.US. Outages were at over 500,000 residents Sunday morning before the territory-wide blackout. Internet outages across the island also spiked as the power went out.

LUMA Energy, the private company that handles the transmission and distribution of electricity in Puerto Rico, stated that full power restoration could take days "due to the magnitude and scope of the blackout," but that the company has the necessary resources to respond to Fiona's effects on the grid."

Thomas Leffler reports for AccuWeather September 18, 2022.

SEE ALSO:

"Biden Declares Emergency for Puerto Rico Due to Tropical Storm Fiona" (Reuters)

"Hurricane Fiona Makes Landfall in the Dominican Republic" (Reuters)

Source: AccuWeather, 09/19/2022