Experiencing Hurricane Irma in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Leaves and tree branches litter a street in Ocean Park, San Juan, Puerto Rico Thursday morning following Hurricane Irma. (Photo: Justin Auciello for WHYY)

Leaves and tree branches litter a street in Ocean Park, San Juan, Puerto Rico Thursday morning following Hurricane Irma. (Photo: Justin Auciello for WHYY)

WHYY/NewsWorks’ Down the Shore blogger Justin Auciello reported on Hurricane Irma from San Juan, Puerto Rico on Wednesday. Here’s his story. 

My wife and I have a house in the Ocean Park section of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and we spent Labor Day weekend on the island. When it became apparent that Hurricane Irma had Puerto Rico in its crosshairs, we scrambled to find available flights, but they were all either booked or extremely expensive.

So we decided to ride out the storm in a secure hotel — built in 2015 and so bulletproof that we couldn’t even hear the wind from our room — about a mile away from the ocean. As a journalist and veteran of numerous nor’easters and tropical systems, I used it as an opportunity to report on the situation.

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As the publisher of Jersey Shore Hurricane News, the two-way, collaborative news organization I founded in 2011, I decided to also create Puerto Rico Hurricane News on Facebook. That would be where I tracked the storm live, shared official information, and then published photos and videos once Irma arrived. I also encouraged readers to share their own reports, photos, and videos.

I was reporting on Facebook Live at 8 p.m. last night when Irma’s eye made it closest approach to San Juan, about 50 miles to the north. It’s hard to describe the sensation: briny rain, through the roof humidity, and fit and spurts of wind gusts, some over 74 miles per hour. I don’t recommend going outside during a hurricane, but I’m a reporter and it’s what I do.

Most of Puerto Rico missed Irma’s intensity. I surveyed the beach areas of San Juan this morning, and damage appears to be minor to moderate. The most common damage includes downed trees, branches, power lines, and utility poles. I did not see any serious structural damage or any evidence of tidal flooding. In fact, there’s not much standing water from the rain.

Residents are taking the damage and required cleanup in stride. It’s a way of life in the tropics.

Irma inflicted severe damage in the US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, and the Leeward Islands to the east. But yesterday was her first chapter. Irma is now on a collision course with the Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, and then potentially somewhere in Florida. She’s projected to remain as a major hurricane, so more destruction is, unfortunately, likely ahead.

You can track Irma’s projected path at the National Hurricane Center’s website

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