Video - #HurricaneMaria – Puerto Rico Dam Failing – 70,000 Evacuated

Hurricane Maria unleashed its force on the US island of Puerto Rico with devastating results.

While the whole of the island is without power and communication is thus extremely difficult for local government, there is now another problem. The 90-year old Guajataca dam seems to have suffered structural failure and its about to burst, leaving authorities with no option but to try and evacuate everyone living downstream as flash floods can emerge any minute now.

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">70,000 evacuated from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Isabela?src=hash">#Isabela</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Quebradillas?src=hash">#Quebradillas</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PuertoRico?src=hash">#PuertoRico</a> after dam fails from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HuracanMaria?src=hash">#HuracanMaria</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Maria?src=hash">#Maria</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RioGuajataca?src=hash">#RioGuajataca</a> <a href="https://t.co/tMv0aNw8YZ">pic.twitter.com/tMv0aNw8YZ</a></p>&mdash; Hurricane Info (@HurricaneData) <a href="https://twitter.com/HurricaneData/status/911441122542702593">23 September 2017</a></blockquote>

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The Governor of Puerto Rico, Mr Ricardo Rossello said: “It’s a structural failure. I don’t have any more details. We’re trying to evacuate as many people as possible.”

The US National Weather Service is tweeting and releasing information on an hourly basis to inform Puerto Ricans who are mostly without internet though.

“This is an extremely dangerous situation. Buses are currently evacuating people from the area as quickly as they can. All Areas surrounding the Guajataca River should evacuate now. Their lives are in danger! Please share!”

Hurricane Maria was already the second major hurricane to make landfall in the Caribbean this month as well as the strongest storm in 90 years to hit the US island.

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Aftermath of Hurricane Maria shot from the air. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PalmasDelMar?src=hash">#PalmasDelMar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PuertoRico?src=hash">#PuertoRico</a> <a href="https://t.co/OrE3fdTb30">pic.twitter.com/OrE3fdTb30</a></p>&mdash; Scotty (@_scottyjoe) <a href="https://twitter.com/_scottyjoe/status/911259922628845569">22 September 2017</a></blockquote>

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So far officials have reported 6 deaths. Three in landslides in Utuadno, 2 because of flooding in Toa Baja and one after being struck by debris.

There are reports of a death toll as high as 20, but that has not yet been confirmed.

Héctor Pesquera, the government’s secretary of public safety: “At the moment, these are fatalities we know of. We know of other potential fatalities through unofficial channels that we haven’t been able to confirm.”

Source:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-23/thousands-evacuated-as-puerto-rican-dam-starts-to-fail/8977856