By 2:00 pm ET on Wednesday (September 20), Hurricane Maria had been downgraded from a category 4 storm to a category 3, but the damage had already taken its toll on Puerto Rico, where it is reported that 100% of the island has lost power.
By press time no deaths have been recorded as a result of the destruction, but it is suspected that that will change when the catastrophic flooding that has enveloped the island's coasts subsides. Local shelters and hospitals, estimated to be harboring 12,000 people, are currently running on generators, as are the properties of private citizens who currently have energy streaming through their homes. Out in the public locals are being advised to remain indoors, with Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello officially instituting a curfew to begin at 6 pm.
The U.S. Department of State is working on plans to evacuate U.S. mainland citizens stranded on the island, but are waiting for the 110 mph winds and other storm conditions still inundating the island to calm before moving along with the process. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth nation is confronting the hardships they will be faced with in bearing down through their second major hurricane in a month.
Source: abcnews.go.com
