Schools and offices were shut in Puerto Rico Wednesday morning as the Caribbean island was hit by torrential rain from Tropical Storm Ernesto, which is set to gather in strength over the Atlantic and become the third hurricane of the season later this morning.
Ernesto is passing north of the U.S. territory, but authorities there are still expecting widespread disruption, power outages and heavy rainfall. The Puerto Rican government said there were 344 shelters available and that public transport is suspended.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi urged people to be indoors by Tuesday evening as forecasts warned of as much as 10 inches of rain could hit the southeast of the island, with possible landslides and widespread flooding. The storm was about 85 miles north of the capital, San Juan, early Wednesday.
“We are particularly warning tourists and our own population to stay away from the ocean. Ocean conditions particularly in the north and the eastern part of Puerto Rico are going to be very dangerous,” the governor said.
Ernesto’s maximum sustained wind speed was close to 70 mph at 5 a.m. Wednesday, the NHC said, not far from the 76 mph needed for a hurricane classification. It will continue to draw strength from the warm waters of the Atlantic and “could become a major hurricane in a couple of days,” according to the NHC.
A hurricane watch is in place for the British Virgin Islands, while a tropical storm watch is in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Vieques and Culebra — all of which are popular with tourists.
The storm is expected to pass north of Puerto Rico on Wednesday and approach Bermuda on Saturday.
“I’m hoping it will go away quickly,” José Rodríguez, 36, told the Associated Press as he climbed on the roof of his uncle’s wooden shack in the Afro-Caribbean community of Piñones on Puerto Rico’s north coast to secure the family’s fried street food business.
Dramatic video posted to social media showed the moment sailors were rescued from a stranded tugboat off the island of Sint Martin, as it was blasted by high winds and heavy rain on Tuesday.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm of what has already been an exceptionally busy hurricane season.
