Authorities launched an evacuation of the 70,000 people living downstream from the Guajataca Dam in northwest Puerto Rico, sending buses to move people away Friday and posting frantic warnings on Twitter that went unseen by many in the blacked-out coastal area. The 345-yard (316-meter) dam, which was built around 1928, holds back a man-made lake covering about 2 square miles (5 square kilometers). With roads blocked and phones dead, officials said, the situation may be worse than they know. But Rydholm acknowledged "it's going to take a while" before people in Puerto Rico will be able to communicate with their families outside the island. Across Puerto Rico, more than 15,000 people are in shelters, including some 2,000 rescued from the north coastal town of Toa Baja.

Source: Fox News September 23, 2017 11:32 UTC