Storm Dorian heads for Puerto Rico amid fears of flooding

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Dorian threatened Puerto Rico with a direct hit at near-hurricane force on Wednesday and forecasters said it could strengthen further as it approaches the U.S. mainland.

The storm was expected to pass over or near Puerto Rico, with landslides, widespread flooding and power outages possible in what is expected to be the first major test of emergency preparedness since Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017.

President Donald Trump declared an emergency Tuesday night and ordered federal assistance for local authorities.

“Practically the entire island will be under sustained tropical storm force winds,” said Roberto García, director of U.S. National Weather Service San Juan, during a press conference late Tuesday.

However, he said the forecast could keep changing, adding that late shifts occur with storms such as Dorian that do not have a well-defined center.

The storm earlier had been projected to brush the western part of the U.S. territory and the change in the storm’s course caught many off guard in the tiny island of Vieques just east of Puerto Rico, a popular tourist destination that now lies in Dorian’s path.

“I’m in shock,” Vilma Santana said in a phone interview, adding that she’s relieved it’s not a hurricane.

“Thank God it’s a storm.”

Early Wednesday, Dorian was located about 60 miles southeast of St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it had strengthened slightly, with maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour while moving northwest at 13 miles per hour.

The storm was expected to dump 4 to 6 inches of rain with isolated amounts of 8 inches.

It’s a forecast that worries many in Puerto Rico because blue tarps still cover some 30,000 homes nearly two years after Hurricane Maria.

The island’s 3.2 million inhabitants also depend on an unstable power grid that remains prone to outages since it was destroyed by Maria, a Category 4 storm.

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