Puerto Rico After Ernesto

Hurricane Ernesto left over 730,000 utility customers in Puerto Rico—accounting for roughly half of the territory's 1.4 million customers—without power yesterday.

The storm, which did not make landfall but instead churned north, slammed the territory with tropical storm-level winds and rain before developing into a Category 1 hurricane. An estimated 235,000 people in Puerto Rico were left without access to water, with hundreds of people taking shelter. President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency, freeing up federal funds for storm recovery efforts. US territories in the region are still at risk for flash flooding, according to warnings from the country's hurricane center.

Ernesto heads north toward Bermuda today and is not on track to make landfall in the continental US. The eastern US coast, however, could experience rip tides and 8-foot-tall waves in the coming days.