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Puerto Rico: Thousands Evacuate Amid Fears of Dam Collapse After Maria

HeadlineSep 25, 2017

In Puerto Rico, 100 percent of the island is still without power after Hurricane Maria. In the northwest corner of the island, 70,000 people have been ordered to evacuate the areas around the Guajataca Dam, which was damaged by Hurricane Maria and is at risk of collapsing “at any minute.”

Puerto Rican resident: “Yesterday, an emergency crew arrived and said that we had to evacuate because the dam collapsed. It had a 30-foot crack, and we had to move. When the water was escaping, it left a big hole. It was ugly. It destroyed the bridge. We made a path to leave through another way. We didn’t really have much communication. The last thing the authorities said was to leave and we couldn’t take anything. I don’t have anything. It was all there in the house.”

Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Roselló has called the hurricane the worst catastrophe in the island’s history.

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