(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — Puerto Rico activated the National Guard and canceled the start of classes in public schools as meteorologists warned that the US territory would be hit by Tropical Storm Ernesto, which formed in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, the US and British Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin.
The storm was located about 230 miles east-southeast of Antigua on Monday night. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and was moving west at 28 mph (44 km/h). Ernesto is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Authorities in the French Caribbean said the storm was expected to deluge Guadeloupe on Monday and pass near St. Barts and St. Martin. The National Hurricane Center said Ernesto is forecast to move over or near Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands on Tuesday night.
Meteorologists warned that the storm is likely to cause flooding and landslides.
“We cannot let our guard down,” Nino Correa, Puerto Rico’s emergency management commissioner, said at a news conference.
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said more than 340 shelters across the island would be available if needed and that more than 200 National Guard personnel had been activated.
Ernesto Morales of the National Weather Service in San Juan said between 15 and 20 centimeters of rain is expected, with greater amounts in isolated areas. He also warned of hurricane-force wind gusts as the storm is expected to hit northeast Puerto Rico and cross into the U.S. territory Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
He urged people to prepare and remain alert given the continued uncertainty about the approaching system.
“This trajectory is not written in stone and will be changing,” he said.
Authorities also warned that Ernesto would cause widespread power outages due to the fragile state of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid, which crews are still rebuilding after Hurricane Maria hit the island in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm.
“This is a reality,” said Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, a private company that operates energy transmission and distribution in Puerto Rico.
Power outages were also a concern in the neighboring US Virgin Islands for similar reasons. Even before the storm approached, authorities announced island-wide blackouts on St. John and St. Thomas.
U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. urged people to take the storm seriously.
“This is a workout to make sure we are really prepared,” he said, noting that the peak of hurricane season is still to come.
Ernesto is expected to become a hurricane on Thursday morning as it turns north toward Bermuda, with some forecasters warning it could develop into a major Category 3 storm.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year due to record ocean temperatures. It predicted 17 to 25 named storms, with four to seven major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
