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from the good-time-to-implement-strict-building-codes dept.
At 9PM ET September 20, ABC News reported
The island of Puerto Rico has been "destroyed" after Hurricane Maria made landfall there as a Category 4 storm Wednesday morning, according to emergency officials.
Puerto Rico's office of emergency management confirmed that 100 percent of the U.S. territory had lost power, noting that anyone with electricity was using a generator.
Multiple transmission lines sustained damage from the storm, said Ricardo Ramos, director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. Ramos said he hopes to begin launching helicopters by this weekends to begin inspecting the transmission lines.
Telecommunications throughout the island have "collapsed", Abner Gomez Cortes, executive director of Puerto Rico's office of emergency management and disaster administration agency, told ABC News.
[...] Cortes described Maria as an unprecedented storm, adding that the island had not seen a storm of that strength since 1928.
[...] Puerto Rico was still experiencing tropical-storm force winds Wednesday afternoon, forcing emergency services and search and rescue teams to wait before heading out to assess the damage, Cortes said.
More than 12,000 people are currently in shelters, and hospitals are now running on generators, Cortes said. Two hospitals--one in Caguas and one in Bayamon--have been damaged.
No deaths have been reported so far, but catastrophic flooding is currently taking place on the island. Multiple rain gauges have reported between 18 and 24 inches of rain, with some approaching the 30-inch mark over the last 24 hours.
Flooding is the danger "that will take lives", Cortes said, advising residents not to venture out of their homes until Thursday because "it is not safe to go out and observe".
[...] As of 8 p.m. ET, Maria had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained wind of 110 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
[...] Some strengthening is possible now that the storm is back over the ocean, so Maria has potential to become a Category 3 hurricane again.
National Hurricane Center graphics for Maria.
Map of Caribbean Islands.
At 15:20 UTC, Mashable reported
Clips shot in the [cities] of Farjado, San Juan, and Guyama show buildings experiencing extreme structural damage. Doors are being ripped right off their hinges, and windows, walls, and roofs of homes, restaurants, and hotels are being stripped away by the storm's incredible power.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by VLM on Thursday September 21 2017, @05:10PM (6 children)
Yup should definitely move to the Clinton Archipelago leftist coasts, definitely.
The difference in the midwest is we prep for our disasters so they don't really matter. If a snow storm hits Atlanta its an utter disaster, if a snow storm hits Chicago we (we in a general midwestern sense) are old school tough so its just BAU and nothing really bad happens. Got my snowblower, plenty of not-fresh food in the house, plenty of road salt, everyone's pretty chill about the weather impacting other activities, its just no big deal.
Kinda makes you wonder if you took midwesterners and moved them to Florida how it would turn out in a Hurricane. I guess it turns out pretty well in the few English speaking areas of Florida, despite boomer retirees being ... old.
(Score: 4, Touché) by bob_super on Thursday September 21 2017, @05:21PM
> Got my snowblower, plenty of not-fresh food in the house
If your disaster is a blizzard, you can keep food fresh even without power!
(Score: 3, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Thursday September 21 2017, @05:45PM
I'd welcome any number of them to re-settle in North Dakota. It's truly beautiful land, and spacious. Lots of Wall Drug billboards to look at. Otherwise nothing to obstruct the expanse of nothingness. Also, we could use their help in securing the northern border against invasion by Saskatchewanians and Manitobans. Dirty Canadians...
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 4, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Thursday September 21 2017, @06:00PM (2 children)
If a snow storm hits Atlanta its an utter disaster
And yet, if they bought a bunch of snow-plows that sat unused most years you'd be complaining about government overreach/spending.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 21 2017, @07:31PM
Hypocrisy: its a way of life for the xenophobes.
terk r jerbs!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by stretch611 on Thursday September 21 2017, @10:25PM
A few years ago after a big "storm of the century", Atlanta/GA/Metro counties were caught flat-footed and did buy a bunch of equipment.
Two years later, "Snowmageaddeon" hit Atlanta and the surrounding area. This is the one that most people heard about. It took me 11 and a half hours to drive 15 miles. (1pm to 12:30am.)
All the equipment? Useless, they did not have the manpower to use it all, and they did not have the experience to use it effectively. IMO, a bigger waste than unused. But hey, people selling plows that had government connections were thrilled.
Another HUGE issue, is that the people here think they need to drive everywhere when the snow is coming... In general, the people here suck when driving in dry weather... add rain and they are horrible... add snow and its un-describable.
Believe me... If you are anywhere near Atlanta and it snows... stay off the roads.
The one big storm after snowmageaddeon that I remember, all the government praised themselves for doing so well, getting it all cleared up within 3 days. Of course, the fact the sun came out afterwards and the temps stayed above freezing (barely, but it was above) overnight wasn't mentioned while giving themselves praise. And thats the big truth about Metro Atlanta and snow... the most effective snow removal in the area is the sun and warm temperature... not the idiots that think they know what they are doing.
For the record, I am currently living in the area, but I have had many northern winters too... living in various parts of the east coast and as far north as Maine. I've learn to drive with snow (and learned even knowing what to do/not do) does not save you from the idiot in the car behind you, or coming towards you in any direction. Do what I try to do when it snows in Atlanta... stay off the roads.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 21 2017, @09:14PM
Whereas if a hurricane were to hit Chicago everybody would panic, where-as Atlanta just buckles down. Or if a magnitude 6 earthquake were to hit Chicago it would cause havoc, whereas Tokyo just continues on BAU.
Your statement is more to do with the fact that Chicago gets snow all the time so has both the resources and the reason to dedicate those resources. Can you imagine the controversy and accusations of corruption if Atlanta spent $20 million a year for snow removal services?
The difference isn't because the mid-west is somehow "better" than anywhere else. It's just they experience different disasters, and thus are prepared for different emergencies.