215PM FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY for A Dam Failure in Isabela Municipality y
Quebradillas Municipality in Puerto Rico… #prwx
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“People Are Going To Start Dying” – Puerto Rico’s Battered Hospitals On Verge Of Failure
“People Are Going To Start Dying” – Puerto Rico’s Battered Hospitals On Verge Of Failure
A week after then-category 4 Hurricane Maria made landfall in densely populated eastern Puerto Rico, electricity remains offline across most of the island, while supplies of staples like gas, food and water are dwindling. Shelters on the island are reportedly running low on food, and the government managers of the emergency response effort are scrambling to evacuate 70,000 people from a river valley that’s in danger of being completely submerged after a nearby dam failed.
And now, Reuters is reporting that hospitals across the island are struggling to continue providing medical services to patients after the storm left many of them flooded, strewn with rubble or relying on diesel-powered generators that will soon run out of fuel. For some, the only option is to evacuate to the United States for treatment.
Among these patients is a baby with a heart defect who had the misfortune of being born just before Maria hit.
“Among them is Cheira Ruiz and her baby girl Gabriellyz, who was born two weeks ago with a serious heart defect. The newborn was admitted to the Centro Cardiovascular de Puerto Rico in the capital shortly before Maria slammed into the island last Wednesday, but it was impossible for doctors to operate in such precarious conditions.”
Gabriellyz was among the first infants cleared to take a medical flight out of Puerto Rico since the storm. Her parents, who live two hours south of the capital, found out the good news Friday when emergency officials knocked on their door in the town of Guanica and told them to pack for the trip to Miami. With phone service out, the doctors had called one of the island’s radio stations, which broadcast their plea for help in locating the couple.
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“Thousands Could Die” – Puerto Rico Scrambles To Evacuate River Valley As Dam Fails
“Thousands Could Die” – Puerto Rico Scrambles To Evacuate River Valley As Dam Fails
Days after Hurricane Maria passed over the island and made its way west toward the Dominican Republican, Puerto Rico is still struggling with the initial response to the storm – rescuing people stranded in remote villages, and moving thousands into government shelters. Meanwhile the island’s first responders are making due without electricity, gas or cell phone service after the storm dealt a knockout blow to its infrastructure.
In what was perhaps the most destructive blow to the island’s aging infrastructure, the NWS warned Friday that the Guajataca Dam in northwest Puerto Rico would soon fail, prompting the agency to issue a flash flood emergency warning for Isabela and Quebradillas municipalities. Now, authorities are scrambling to evacuate the residents of the river valley below the dam before their communities are entirely submurged. If the authorities don’t act quickly, “thousands could die” one official in charge of the rescue response said.
According to federal reservoir data, the lake behind the dam, Lago de Guajataca, rose more than three feet between Tuesday and Wednesday, when the storm was still directly over the island. More recent data were unavailable. With floodwaters gushing into the Guajataca river valley, Reuters reports that emergency officials were scrambling Friday and Saturday to evacuate its nearly 70,000 residents before their villages have been completely submerged.
Video published by CBS shows waters gushing over the top of the 90-year-old dam, sending a wall of water racing into the valley below.
The National Weather Service warned of “imminent failure” and urged residents in the area to “move to higher ground now.”
The evacuation of the valley is perhaps the most high-stakes rescue effort of the past week, according to Abner Gomez, executive director of Puerto Rico’s emergency management agency. Gomez said Friday that the dam’s floodgates suffered mechanical damage during the storm, which made it impossible for authorities to open and let out normal water currents.
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NWS Declares “Extremely Dangerous Situation” After Puerto Rico Dam Fails
With electricity and cell phone service still offline across most of hurricane-damaged island, NBC reports that a dam in northwest Puerto Rico has failed, causing even more flash flooding and prompting emergency evacuations.
Guajataca Dam operators said it failed at 2:10 pm ET, prompting the NWS to issue a flash flood emergency warning for Isabela and Quebradillas municipalities.
“This is an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. Busses are currently evacuating people from the area as quickly as they can,” NWS San Juan said.
A warning was also issued for residents living in areas surrounding the Guajataca River who, according to NEW San Juan “should evacuate NOW” as their lives are in danger.
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