Hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico's capital and surrounding communities woke up without running water as a massive rationing measure took effect Friday. It comes amid a severe drought on top of shortages due to infrastructure issues on the island.
"It's brutal," San Juan resident Gloriany Baba told CBS News in Spanish. "It's unbelievable to live through this today."
Residents were seen filling up jugs and buckets with water ahead of the rationing, which affects more than 180,000 customer accounts — meaning households and businesses — in San Juan and six other municipalities. Customers were divided into two groups that will alternate not having water for at least 48 hours at a time.
Government officials have not said when the rationing will end and have warned the outages could be extended to 72 hours at a time.
In San Juan, July was the driest month in more than 120 years and the second hottest on record. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, about 36% of Puerto Rico is facing a severe drought, and another 32% is in a moderate drought.
#drought #water #time
"It's brutal," San Juan resident Gloriany Baba told CBS News in Spanish. "It's unbelievable to live through this today."
Residents were seen filling up jugs and buckets with water ahead of the rationing, which affects more than 180,000 customer accounts — meaning households and businesses — in San Juan and six other municipalities. Customers were divided into two groups that will alternate not having water for at least 48 hours at a time.
Government officials have not said when the rationing will end and have warned the outages could be extended to 72 hours at a time.
In San Juan, July was the driest month in more than 120 years and the second hottest on record. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, about 36% of Puerto Rico is facing a severe drought, and another 32% is in a moderate drought.
#drought #water #time
3 days ago
