A dam in northwestern Puerto Rico suffered structural damage on Friday, the governor said at a news conference, prompting evacuations of areas nearby in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
“Close to 70,000 is the estimate of people that could be affected in the case of a collapse,” the governor, Ricardo Rosselló, said about the Guajataca Dam, which is operated by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. “We don’t know the details. It’s time to get people out.”
The news about the dam was a dramatic sign that the scale of troubles left behind by the storm were just being understood. Power remained out and phone service was still limited. On Friday night, the governor was flying over to the dam area to see how serious the risk might be, said a spokeswoman for the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency.
The New York Times
Personal Note: I would, of course, write about this horrifying disaster in any case, but my family also has a personal connection with Puerto Rico. When my Dad was 8, he nearly drowned in a swimming race and then contracted pneumonia. This was before penicillin. He survived. My Dad grew up in New York. His family took him to Puerto Rico to recover. It took nearly a year. Puerto Rico’s warm sun helped him recover. He learned Spanish. He lived. And he always loved Puerto Rico.