As Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever recorded, aimed for Puerto Rico and other islands throughout the Caribbean, residents scrambled yesterday to rush out of flood zones, stock up on the last available water, food and gas, shutter their homes and brace for what is now a Category 5 hurricane, the New York Times reported today. “We have to prepare for an event that we have never experienced here,” said Gov. Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico. It has been nearly a century since Puerto Rico was hit by a Category 5 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center and Bryan Norcross, the hurricane specialist at The Weather Channel. President Trump declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico, Florida and the United States Virgin Islands yesterday. Puerto Rican officials have warned that the island’s fragile electrical grid could be shut down for days, weeks or even months in some areas. In his news conference, Mr. Rosselló and emergency officials warned that with such powerful winds expected to thrash the island, infrastructure, houses and the phone system will inevitably be damaged.
