Hurricane Ernesto raises alarm in Rochester’s Puerto Rican community

Torrential rain and damaging winds visited Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Wednesday as now-Hurricane Ernesto passed to the north. There were flash flood warnings and more than a half-million people reportedly lost power.

Rochester has the largest Puerto Rican population outside of New York City. Angelica Perez-Delgado, president and CEO of the Ibero-American Action League, said the primary concerns, beyond flooding and power outages, was the risk of mudslides in mountainous regions of the island.

“Some areas are seeing long lines in stores and limited access to food due to late preparations,” Perez-Delgado said in an email. “The local news has been on 24/7 reminding residents to execute their storm preparedness plans.”

The IAAL’s chief of social enterprises is in Puerto Rico visiting family and his flight on Tuesday was canceled so he’s staying in San Juan. His family, originally from Jayuya, is particularly worried about the risk of mudslides, Perez-Delgado said.

“We kindly ask that everyone keep our families in their thoughts and prayers,” she said.

What is the status of Hurricane Ernesto?

By 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Ernesto was just below hurricane strength with 70 mph winds. It was approximately 125 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was upgraded to a hurricane during the 10 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center.

The National Hurricane Center forecast called for a total of 6 to 8 inches of rain on the east side of the island, with up to 10 inches across southeastern Puerto Rico. Winds to the east are expected to be as strong as 73 mph, with the forecast for the Northeast county calling on residents to take shelter.

The tropical system will move north-northwest later on Wednesday, with a turn to the north, with the Category-1 Hurricane likely to approach Bermuda later this week. The hurricane is expected to stay well offshore from the mainland United States, though swells could reach the East Coast later this week.

Ernesto path tracker

Ernesto Spaghetti Models

Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Hurricane Ernesto raises alarm in Rochester’s Puerto Rican community