National Weather Service says Guatajaca Dam is failing in western Puerto Rico, and buses are evacuating people from two towns “as quickly as they can.”
The government called the situation “extremely dangerous.”
The weather service office in San Juan says dam operators reported at 2:10 p.m. that the dam at the northern end of Lake Guajataca in the northwest corner of Puerto Rico was failing and causing flash flooding downstream.
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Meanwhile, Puerto Rico faced another night of darkness Friday, two days after Hurricane Maria hurled rain and wind at the U.S. territory and knocked out its electricity grid. Residents feared power could be out for weeks - or even months - and wondered how their battered island would cope.
Some of the island's 3.4 million residents planned to come to the U.S. to temporarily escape the desolation left by the destruction. At least in the short term, though, the soggy misery will continue: additional rain - up to 6 inches - is expected through Saturday.