CNN and several other media outlets are reporting that Puerto Rico suffered an island-wide power outage Wednesday.
The entire electrical system in Puerto Rico collapses AGAIN! Back to September 20th. @DavidBegnaud @leylasantiago @maddow @stephencolbertr
— Carmen Yulín Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) April 18, 2018
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz tweeted, "The entire electrical system in Puerto Rico collapses AGAIN! Back to September 20th."
Update: As of 1 a.m. EDT Thursday, officials have been able to restore power to approximately 648,000 homes and businesses, CBS News reports. Additionally the contractor who was responsible for this power failure, as well as a previous one, has been fired.
According to CNN, however, the mayor said backup systems and mobile tower lights will allow Wednesday night's baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins to go on as planned at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.
“Tower lights will be brought into the parking lot at the Bithorn Stadium and security will be increased to 4 patrol cars & 21 motorcycles,” she tweeted.
CNN also reports that an excavator operated by a contractor apparently caused the outage, according to the authority, which estimated that power will be restored within 24 to 36 hours.
The massive outage comes less than a week after a fallen tree knocked out service to 870,000 customers, according to CNN.
This is another small bump in the road for an otherwise positive start to the year for Puerto Rico tourism, which is still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), in fact, announced a spike in visitors across the destination over the Easter, Passover and Spring Break.
Visit www.seepuertorico.com
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