Tens of Thousands Flee for Safety as Guajataca Dam Fails in Puerto Rico

Fears had grown overnight and evacuations had begun and footage showed the dam, located in northwest city of Guajataca, failing and waters rushing downstream. A dam failure in Puerto Rico has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing the rushing waters that are threatening downstream communities in the wake of torrential rains unleashed by Hurricane Maria.

Islanders flee dam in danger

Puerto Rican officials rushed to evacuate tens of thousands of people downstream of a failing dam and said they could not reach more than half the towns in the U.S. territory as the scale of the disaster wrought by Hurricane Maria started to become clear Friday. Government spokesman Carlos Bermudez said officials had no communication with 40 of the 78 municipalities on the island more than two days after the Category 4 storm crossed the island, toppling power lines and cellphone towers and sending floodwaters cascading through city streets.

Hurricane Maria may spell more trouble for Puerto Rico bondholders

Hurricane Maria could imperil Puerto Rico's long-term economic recovery and hinder its ability to pay back bondholders waiting for the U.S. territory to emerge from years of financial strife, analysts and investors said. Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico midweek and tore across the island of 3.4 million people, destroying buildings and downing nearly all power and communications.

Puerto Rico Faces Weeks Without Electricity After Maria

They eye of Hurricane Maria was nearing the Turks and Caicos early Friday as Puerto Rico sought to recover from the storm's devastation. Two days after Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, flooding towns, crushing homes and killing at least two people, millions on the island faced the dispiriting prospect of weeks and perhaps months without electricity.

The Latest: Maria to cause dangerous currents along US coast

Hurricane Maria is expected to soon create dangerous waves and strong rip currents along parts of the southeast U.S. coast as the Category 3 storm moves away from the Bahamas and into open water. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Maria continues to have maximum sustained winds of 125 mph .

Northcom Providing Disaster Relief Following Hurricane Maria

U.S. Northern Command is fully engaged with federal, state and local mission partners as the command provides support to the response efforts for Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. Northcom has begun search and rescue and damage assessment flights in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with six Navy helicopters and three U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft launched from the USS Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group.

Empire State Building honors victims of earthquake in Mexico

The Empire State Building put on a rotating light display Thursday night to honor the countries affected by both Hurricane Maria and the earthquake in Mexico. The building was lit with the colors of Mexico, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Dominica on Thursday night after the countries were devastated by natural disasters this week.

Puerto Rico Board Approves $1 Billion for Hurricane Maria Response

The approval to reallocate funds in the $9.6 billion budget comes as Maria left Puerto Rico devastated and entirely without power. As much as $1 billion will be reallocated in Puerto Rico's $9.6 billion budget to fund emergency relief efforts, as Hurricane Maria's devastating effects left the entire island without power Thursday.

The Latest: Hurricane Maria approaching Turks and Caicos

20, 2017. The strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 yea... . Power lines are down after the impact of Hurricane Maria, which hit the eastern region of the island in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept.

USDA, House agriculture staff stable after car accident

An Agriculture Department employee and two staff members on the House Agriculture Committee are in stable condition after a car accident south of El Campo, Texas. The staffers were taken to a local hospital after the accident, which occurred following an event with farmers who had been affected by hurricane Harvey.

Powerless: Puerto Rico faces weeks without electricity

The sky was darkening Thursday afternoon as 10-year-old Sarah Jimenez laid out three plastic buckets on her grandmother's patio in hopes of capturing rainwater. A day after Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, flooding towns, crushing homes and killing at least two people, millions of people on the island faced the dispiriting prospect of weeks and perhaps months without electricity.

Capitol Report: Puerto Rico could suffer more than $30 billion in damages from Maria, modeler says

Hurricane Maria could cause $30 billion or more in damages to Puerto Rico, a disaster-modeler says, as President Donald Trump plans to visit the "obliterated" island and Congress gears up to vote on more disaster aid. Chuck Watson of Enki Research, who models the effects of disasters, preliminarily estimates $30 billion in damages stemming from physical property loss and long-term losses like foregone business revenue as tourism suffers.

President Donald J. Trump Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Puerto Rico

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to supplement the Commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Maria from September 17, 2017, and continuing.

Hurricane Maria churns through Caribbean as ravaged Puerto Rico takes stock of an a island destroyeda

After mauling Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria delivered a weaker but still punishing blow Thursday to the Dominican Republic with winds near 115 mph and driving rains as the storm carved an arc of misery through the Caribbean. Maria - now a Category 3 hurricane - was expected to gather some fresh strength over open water before taking aim at the Turks and Caicos Islands, which were battered earlier this month by Hurricane Irma on its deadly path toward Florida.