Puerto Rico News

Puerto Rico Declares State of Emergency on Coastal Erosion

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s governor declared a state of emergency on Tuesday to fight worsening coastal erosion across the U.S. territory that officials blame on climate change. The government is setting aside $105 million in federal …

Environmental Groups Sue Feds Over Puerto Rico Dredging Plan

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the U.S government, accusing it of endangering wildlife and humans as it prepares to dredge and expand Puerto Rico’s biggest bay to accommodate massive tankers …

Power Restored in Puerto Rico Nearly 5 Days After Blackout

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A private company announced Monday that power had been fully restored to Puerto Rico’s almost 1.5 million customers nearly five days after a fire at a main power plant sparked an island-wide blackout and …

Major Outage Forces Puerto Rico to Shutter Schools, Offices

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — More than a million customers in Puerto Rico remained without electricity on Thursday after a fire at a main power plant caused the biggest blackout so far this year across the U.S. territory, forcing …

Tropical Storm Fred Strengthens Again in Gulf Near Florida

Twin tropical storms promise heavy rains across Florida and more misery for Haiti, reeling after hundreds were killed following a massive earthquake Saturday. In the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Storm Fred, which had been battered by its path across the …

Power Outage Hits 337K in Puerto Rico Amid Growing Outrage

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A sudden power failure left more than 337,000 customers in the dark across Puerto Rico late Wednesday, enraging many who were recovering from a massive outage that hit the U.S. territory just days ago. …

Puerto Rico Probes Fire That Left 900K Clients Without Power

AN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities said Friday they are investigating what sparked a fire at a key substation that plunged 900,000 customers into darkness across Puerto Rico, with thousands still without power. Wayne Stensby, CEO of Luma Energy, …

Private Company Takes Over Puerto Rico Power Company Service

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A private company on Tuesday took over the transmission and distribution operations of Puerto Rico’s power authority, which has struggled with blackouts and bankruptcy, corruption and mismanagement. The takeover by Luma Energy under a …

Florida Declares Emergency On Coast as Hurricane Isaias Barrels Toward State

MIAMI — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday declared a state of emergency for counties on the Atlantic coast with Hurricane Isaias expected to hit the state as early as this evening before moving up north into early next week. …

Rain, More Than Wind, Led to Massive Toppling of Trees in Hurricane Maria

A new study says that hurricanes Irma and Maria combined in 2017 to knock down a quarter of the biomass contained in Puerto Rico’s trees — and that massive rainfall, more than wind, was a previously unsuspected key factor. The …