For Puerto Ricans, the uncertainty of when electricity will be fully restored is a haunting echo of the catastrophic situation following Hurricane Maria five years ago, where it took some areas months and up to a year to regain power.
About half of the nearly 1.5 million power customers are still without electricity on Sunday, a week after Fiona made landfall near Cabo Rojo, leaving the entire island in the dark.
Most of the customers who’ve been reconnected to the power grid are in the northeast, where the storm caused less damage. As of early Sunday, about 802,000 power customers had their electricity restored, about 55% of all customers, according to the Puerto Rican government’s emergency portal.
About 80%, or 1,062,192 customers, have had their water service restored as of Saturday afternoon, according to the Water and Sewer Authority. About 20% of customers still have no water.
“It’s a disgrace that a week after this storm, which was strong and did its damage but was not Hurricane Maria, that we still don’t fully have water,” Vélez Luciano said. In Cabo Rojo about 20% to 25% of customers still don’t have water service. “It’s disrespectful.”
[How many billions of dollars did Puerto Rico get to harden their electrical and water systems after Hurricane Maria? — Ed]
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