‘This Is Chaos’: Sweltering Puerto Rico on Day 6 Without Power
- Power outages strike during the island’s hottest time of year
- National Guard has more than 1,000 involved in the response
Puerto Rico Faces Steep Damage in Wake of Maria
A nursing home in San Juan made desperate pleas for diesel as its power generator ran low. An elderly man was carried out on a stretcher after going a week without dialysis. Children wearing nothing but diapers camped out on balconies to stay cool.
Hurricane Maria, which smashed into the island six days ago and devastated its power grid, couldn’t have come at a worse time. This is Puerto Rico’s hottest season of the year -- and virtually no one has air conditioning. Crews have arrived to begin the arduous task of resurrecting what was already an aging and long-neglected electricity system. But that’ll take weeks, if not months -- meaning more sleepless nights for those like Juan Bautista Gonzalez.