Puerto Rico

Flash Flood Watch Issued for Puerto Rico as Island Reels From Direct Hit by Hurricane Maria

All of Puerto Rico is under a flash flood watch as the island deals with a humanitarian crisis in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

The island is under a flash flood watch until late Sunday, only a week after Hurricane Maria began to crash into Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm.

The National Weather Service forecasts heavy rain across the island this weekend, which could be between 2 and 4 inches each day.

A flash flood warning is also in effect for the Guajataca Dam for potentially life-threatening flash flooding downstream on Rio Guajataca, according to the NWS.

The dam, located in northwest Puerto Rico, began failing late last week, causing flash flooding and prompting emergency evacuations.

Urban, street and river flooding as well as mudslides are in the forecast.

Meanwhile, the island is still reeling from a direct hit by Hurricane Maria, knocking out power and communications to most of the island.

On Friday, thousands of Puerto Ricans were finally getting water and food rations as an aid bottleneck began to ease, but many remained cut off from the basic necessities of life and were desperate for power, communications and other trappings of normality.

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