Puerto Rico is in the dark in wake of Hurricane Maria

Sept. 25, 2017 Updated Mon., Sept. 25, 2017 at 8:50 p.m.

By Danica Coto and David Koenig Associated Press

Help is on the way

The U.S. Defense Department was working around the clock to deliver humanitarian assistance to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, even as the death toll climbed further across the Caribbean after Hurricane Maria.

By Monday afternoon, the confirmed toll from Maria’s rampage across the Caribbean had jumped to at least 49 deaths, including 16 dead in Puerto Rico and 27 on the hard-hit island of Dominica.

The U.S. military also is helping in Puerto Rico by providing generators and the fuel to run them, Manning said. Eight Army UH-60 helicopters from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, are being flown to San Juan international airport to increase the capacity for distributing relief supplies. And the Navy ship USS Kearsarge ferried Marine and Navy teams into the Roosevelt Roads area of Puerto Rico to clear main roads and the airfield to bolster air support to the overall relief effort, said Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – It’s already been five days with no lights or air conditioning, and Puerto Rico is looking at many, many more.

The power is still out on nearly all the island after Hurricane Maria smashed poles, snarled power lines and flooded electricity-generating plants, knocking out a grid that was already considered antiquated compared to the U.S. mainland.

Power had been restored to a handful of hospitals and surrounding areas by Monday afternoon but Public Affairs Secretary Ramon Rosario said it will take months to fully restore power to the island.

Getting the power back isn’t just a matter of comfort. A long delay will mean even more pain for a Puerto Rican economy that’s already reeling from a decade-long recession. With no power, even more people will leave the island to find better opportunities on the mainland and further drain its workforce.

The downed power system is also damaging the tourism industry, which contributed 8 percent to Puerto Rico’s economy last year.

Puerto Rico is in the dark in wake of Hurricane Maria

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