With Category 3 Hurricane Erin hitting the Caribbean, nearly 155,000 utility customers are out of power in Puerto Rico.
“The bad weather has caused multiple interruptions across the island,” Puerto Rican power company Luma Energy said on X.
Meanwhile, the two divers who were blown away by a dangerous surf near St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands had to be rescued by local crews on Sunday, according to the US Coast Guard.
Video of the rescue by Jason Henry of the St. Croix Rescue Tribe showed the diver being pulled by a boat.
And on the island of Sint Marchen, the video showed palm trees shaking in strong winds on Saturday.
Erin has fluctuated in intensity over the past few days, and it is currently expected that Category 3 storms will be reinforced again.
As of 2pm on Sunday, Erin had a maximum sustained wind of 125 mph, 235 miles north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It travels around 13 miles in the west and northwest.
The outer band continues to clean Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, bringing heavy rain and gusts of wind. The total rainfall is 2-4 inches, with a high probability of up to 6 inches in some areas, leading to flash floods and landslides.
During a news briefing on Sunday morning, Puerto Rico Gov. Jennifer Gonzalez Colon advised residents to stay home if possible. There have been no reports of flooding on the island so far, but the worst weather is expected to affect the area within the next six hours, officials said in a briefing.
X’s video showed heavy rain in Sidra, central Puerto Rico on Sunday. Other videos posted on social media showed trees shaking as the island’s winds and storm waves.
González-Colón said there are currently no residents at the shelter and have not previously reported any floods, but flash floods remain a concern.
The hurricane is expected to strengthen over the next two days before turning north on Monday and Tuesday. According to the National Hurricane Centre, its core is expected to pass through the Turks, Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas on Sunday night and Monday. The storm is then predicted to gradually weaken until the middle half and second half of the week as it passes between the US and Bermuda.
These are the latest fluctuations in an already volatile storm. Erin exploded rapidly from a Category 2 storm on Friday, gradually weakening to Category 3 by Sunday morning.
“There is likely to be a variability in intensity over the next few days, but Erin is expected to remain a dangerous hurricane until mid-week,” the Hurricane Centre said in an update on Sunday.
The storm is also expected to bring life-threatening surfing and ripping flows to the East Coast on weekdays.
Tropical storm warnings have been issued in Turks, Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas, according to the Hurricane Centre.
In the Sierra Byamont area in Puerto Rico, the suspension insulators broke, causing conductors to fall to the ground due to weather conditions, Luma Energy said on Facebook. The crew was working on repairs to the line on Sunday morning.
Luma Energy advised the public to avoid walking or driving in flooded areas, particularly near fallen power lines.
