USA: 870,000 without electricity in Puerto Rico April 12

Event

At least 870,000 people in Puerto Rico remain without electricity as of 16:30 (local time) on Thursday, April 12, due to downed power lines. The outages occurred in and around the capital city of San Juan, causing key infrastructure such as Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) to activate backup generators. According to authorities, power should be restored overnight.

Flights to and from SJU appear to be operating normally, but flight disruptions cannot be ruled out.

Context

Puerto Rico's electricity and water grids were devastated by Hurricane Maria when the storm struck the island in September 2017 and recovery efforts are ongoing. Mass power outages, along with other issues, have brought Puerto Rico's economy to a near standstill.

Advice

Individuals in Puerto Rico are advised to keep battery-operated devices fully charged whenever possible. In addition, individuals are advised to be cautious when driving or crossing streets if traffic signals are not functioning.