SAN JUAN — Tropical Storm Ernesto battered the northeast Caribbean today as it took aim at Puerto Rico, where officials shuttered schools and government agencies.
The storm was located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) east-southeast of Puerto Rico this morning. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and was moving west at 18 mph (30 kph).
“It’s not a hurricane, but it will bring heavy rains regardless,” Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said as he urged people to seek shelter by early this evening.
He activated the National Guard as crews across the island visited flood-prone areas and elderly residents as part of last-minute preparations.
Forecasters have warned of widespread flooding and possible landslides, with six to eight inches of rain forecast for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and up to 10 inches in isolated areas. The looming rains come as Puerto Rico faces six reservoirs that already were overflowing ahead of the storm.
Tropical storm warnings were in place for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, St. Barts and Sint Maarten.
The National Hurricane Center said Ernesto is forecast to move over or near Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands on Tuesday evening.
Officials in Puerto Rico warned of widespread power outages given the U.S. territory’s crumbling electric grid, which crews are still repairing after Hurricane Maria razed it in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm.
“That’s a reality,” said Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, a private company that operates the transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico.
Outages also were a concern in the neighboring U.S. Virgin Islands for similar reasons, with blackouts reported on St. Thomas and St. John on Monday ahead of the storm.
“Don’t sleep on this,” said Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan, whose administration announced early Tuesday that it was closing all schools.
Early Tuesday, Ernesto drenched the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, where officials closed several main roads and urged people to stay indoors as they warned that the quality of potable water would be affected for several days.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. It is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane early Thursday over open waters on a path toward Bermuda.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record warm ocean temperatures. It forecasted 17 to 25 named storms, with four to seven major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.
By DÁNICA COTO/Associated Press