Hurricanes like Maria, which barreled into Puerto Rico packing 155-mph winds, generally knock out power when winds tear down power lines and when floodwaters compromise transformers, substations, buried power lines and power plants, often causing a ripple effect throughout the electrical grid. For the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the island’s sole energy service provider, that ripple effect shut off power for 100 percent of its customers. HECTOR RETAMAL via Getty Images A man walks past a house lying in floodwater in Catano town in Juana Matos, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 21, 2017. Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters Damaged electrical installations are seen after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria in Guayama, Puerto Rico, Sept. 20, 2017. “They were built to withstand this.” “Puerto Rico would have been much better off not being hit by the hurricane,” he continued.

Source: Huffington Post September 22, 2017 00:00 UTC