Failing dam forces thousands to evacuate in Puerto Rico
Digital Reporter
Saturday, September 23, 2017, 8:32 PM - Torrential rain brought on by Hurricane Maria has caused the Guajataca Dam in Puerto Rico to fail. Flash flooding in the area has forced the evacuation of over 70,000 residents.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued flash flood warnings for locales located downstream of Rio Guajataca, including Isabela and Quebradillas.
Maria knocked the power out to the entire island earlier this week. The powerful storm caused catastrophic damage, with 15,000 residents in shelters and at least six deaths reported so far in Puerto Rico.
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Maria downed over 1,300 of the island's 1,600 cellphone towers, according to The Canadian Press.
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Officials say the dam started showing signs of failure just after 2 p.m. local time on Friday.
The Guajataca Dam was constructed in 1928 and holds back a five square-kilometre man-made lake, The Canadian Press reports.
"There's no clue as to how long or how this can evolve," U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Anthony Reynes told the news agency. "That is why the authorities are moving so fast because they also have the challenges of all the debris. It is a really, really dire situation."
The full scope of damage has yet to be determined and Puerto Rico's governor Ricardo Rossello has yet to say when the power might be restored to the island of 3.4 million people.
Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on Wednesday as the second major hurricane to hit the Caribbean this month, and the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory in nearly 90 years.
SOURCE: The Canadian Press
