A surfer enters the water to take advantage of the high waves in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014. .(AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo) By Danica Coto
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Tropical Storm Bertha pushed just south of Puerto Rico on Saturday as it unleashed heavy rains and strong winds across the region, knocking out power on some islands in the eastern Caribbean.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds dropped slightly to 45 mph (75 kph), and slow strengthening was expected by Sunday night. Bertha was centred about 90 miles (150 kilometres) east of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and was moving west-northwest at 22 mph (35 kph) late Saturday afternoon.
The storm passed southwest Puerto Rico and was headed toward the eastern Dominican Republic on Saturday night. As much as 3 to 5 inches (8-13 centimetres) of rain was forecast for Puerto Rico, with isolated amounts of up to 8 inches (20 centimetres).
Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla warned of flooding, landslides and swollen rivers, which he urged people not to try and cross.
“It’s something that sounds obvious but it happens so often,” he said. “It’s not the time to take risks.”
Tourists wear rain coats as they walk towards the 16th century Spanish fort El Morro, under cloudy skies in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
Police said a man is recovering after lightning struck next to him as he emerged from a tent in the northeast coastal town of Luquillo. Garcia initially had said the man was a surfer.
Authorities also reported several downed trees across the island’s eastern region and two downed electrical posts. Some 9,000 people were without power and more than 1,300 without water. The lights also went out at the island’s emergency management agency during a press conference Saturday morning.
The heaviest rains were falling in the island’s southern and eastern regions, with authorities warning people to stay indoors.
Jose Colon Rivera, 50, who lives in a rural area near the southern town of Cayey, said in a phone interview that he could hear the wind whistling loudly through his zinc roof.
“If anything happens, I can always run,” said Colon, who was watching wrestling on TV as he waited for the storm to pass.
Meanwhile, in the nearby southeast coastal town of Arroyo, some 180 people remained at a government shelter, the majority of them athletes participating in a youth baseball tournament.
Ingrid Vila, gubernatorial chief of staff, said Puerto Rico’s main international airport remained open but that several flights have been cancelled.
Two women walk with the protection of an umbrella in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
Authorities closed El Yunque rainforest, a popular tourist attraction in northeast Puerto Rico, and ferry rides to the neighbouring islands of Culebra and Vieques were cancelled.
Downed trees limbs also were reported across St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where a coastal buoy south of St. Thomas recorded wind gusts of 72 mph (115 kph).
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for Puerto Rico, the eastern Dominican Republic, southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands. A tropical storm watch was in effect for central Bahamas.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic banned vessels from operating along the country’s east coast, which is popular with tourists. The sun shone brightly there ahead of the storm, but those who ferry hundreds of tourists a day to the nearby island of Saona remained cautious.
“Our fear was to take customers and then have the storm trap them on the island,” said Davis de la Cruz, marketing manager for tourism company Caribbean Saona.
On Friday, Bertha passed just north of the French Caribbean island of Martinique, where it knocked out power in several areas. Government spokeswoman Audrey Hamann said in a phone interview that some 150,000 homes were affected by outages but that no injuries or damage were reported.
In Dominica, the storm left hundreds of people without power along the island’s eastern region.
Antigua-based regional airline LIAT cancelled several flights in Dominica, St. Lucia, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Seaborne Airlines also cancelled flights in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, while the U.S. Coast Guard closed ports in the U.S. Virgin Islands and eastern and southern Puerto Rico.
The storm may bring rain to a drought-hit area of southern Puerto Rico, authorities said.
It rained less than an inch in June in Puerto Rico, compared with the month’s average of more than 4 inches. July saw more rain, but the 3.40 inches (8.64 centimetres) that fell was still down from the average of 4.76 inches (12 centimetres).
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