Ernesto becomes hurricane after leaving 570,000 without power in Puerto Rico
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Ernesto has become a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday after hitting Puerto Rico overnight and leaving power outages and flooding in its wake.
The center of then-Tropical Storm Ernesto passed within 40 miles of San Juan, Puerto Rico, early Wednesday, producing strong winds and heavy rain.
More than 570,000 customers are without power in Puerto Rico, according to LUMA, a service provider. The island’s eastern and central regions are the most impacted.
The storm was moving away from Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning with hurricane strength winds of 75 mph.
The highest rainfall total recorded so far is 9.6 inches in Naguabo, Puerto Rico.
More rain is possible this morning and into early afternoon before the storm moves out of Puerto Rico.
On Culebra island, east of Puerto Rico, sustained winds of 68 mph were reported with a gust up to 86 mph. A METAR Observation Station at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico reported sustained winds of 48 mph and a gust of 74 mph.
Tropical storm warnings were issued for Puerto Rico and a hurricane watch was in effect for the British Virgin Islands.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico on Tuesday night.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi had warned residents to stay home starting on Tuesday evening, when the tropical storm-force winds are forecast to reach the island. Total rainfall could reach up to 10 inches in some spots.
A flash flood warning was issued for parts of Puerto Rico early Wednesday morning, as several inches of rain already caused flooding. Heavy rain and gusty winds will continue in Puerto Rico into the afternoon as Ernesto moves away from the island.
ABC News’ Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Almagissel Schuring
(NEW YORK) — NATO troops, vessels and aircraft took to the frigid North Atlantic Ocean last month to sharpen their skills for a potential future war at sea, whether in the tumultuous Atlantic or in waters closer to their hypothetical Russian adversaries.
The drills — led by U.S. Naval Forces Europe and the U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet — “focused on the strategic waterways and airspace surrounding Iceland,” a NATO press release said, an area it described as “a vital hub in the North Atlantic.” NATO forces practiced tracking enemy naval forces — including submarines — and responding to mass casualty events.
But one part of the exercise was designed with a different region, though the same hypothetical enemy, in mind.
With U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft acting as their eyes, Polish Naval Strike Missile (NSM) units used their time in Iceland to simulate strikes on enemy ships out at sea.
Lt. Bartlomiej Gryglewski, a liaison officer for the Polish navy’s naval missile unit, told ABC News that his contingent performed every step up until the actual firing of the munitions. “We ‘performed’ a lot of strikes,” Gryglewski said, describing the Norwegian-made NSM as a “pretty awesome” weapon.
The combination of the “precise missile” and the information gathered by the American aircraft above gives a “a high percentage chance — almost 100% — that the target will be hit,” Gryglewski added.
The North Atlantic, though, is not the expected hunting ground.
“We almost always perform our exercises in the Baltic region,” Gryglewski said, “protecting the Baltic Sea region from the enemy” as part of Poland’s coastal defense system.
NATO’s ‘lake’
There, Russia is “facing a real imbalance” with its NATO rivals, Sidharth Kaushal of the U.K.’s Royal United Services Institute think tank told ABC News.
NATO’s inclusion of Finland and Sweden — a direct consequence of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — has prompted some officials to jokingly refer to the Baltic Sea as the “NATO Lake.”
The trope “is a bit of an exaggeration, but only a bit,” Kaushal said. “The maritime imbalance is significantly in NATO’s favor, and that’s a huge problem for Russia.”
The Baltic Sea remains a key oil export route for Russian ships departing terminals in St. Petersburg. Commercial and military vessels alike must transit the sea to reach the Atlantic Ocean, passing through the Gulf of Finland and the narrow Danish straits with NATO eyes on all sides.
Russia’s strategic Kaliningrad exclave is surrounded by NATO nations, its approaches in sight of the Latvian, Polish and Swedish coasts.
In the event of war, NATO aircraft and vessels could launch attacks on Russian territory from within the Baltic region that would “give Russian air defenses very limited warning times,” Kashual noted.
“There’s a whole range of conundrums that the alliance’s preponderance in the Baltic Sea faces the Russians with,” Kaushal said. “Reminding Russia of that fact is probably an important goal for the Americans, and for the wider alliance.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin have routinely criticized NATO military drills — particularly those close to its border. In July, for example, Moscow hit out at NATO drills in Finland as “an integral part of NATO’s comprehensive provocative efforts to contain Russia.”
Control of the Baltic Sea is not a given for the Western allies. Russia’s naval cruise missile bombardment of Ukraine from the Black Sea since 2022 has proved devastating, and proved that Moscow can “pose a real threat at depth across Europe,” Kashual said.
“Sinking them early and demonstrating the ability to do so would be a real priority for regional countries like Poland, even if the aggregate balance of forces is now heavily skewed in NATO’s direction in the Baltic,” he added.
“There’s a temporal question; can the Baltic Fleet be sunk in a manner that’s both timely and cost effective before it’s done an unacceptable level of damage across Europe with its cruise missiles?”
Polish NSMs, Kashual added, could prove to be “a big part” of NATO’s answer to that question.
Poland’s government has said as much. “Due to the reinforcement of the coastal missile units, manned and unmanned reconnaissance platforms, modern mine warfare and submarines, we will greatly increase our capabilities to protect our coastline,” the Defense Ministry wrote in its 2032 plan.
Still, Western militaries may have to grapple with the same industrial strains that have so hamstrung Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Advanced technology like the NSM may work well, but restocking munitions might prove a challenge. Last fall, the Polish Defense Ministry inked a deal with NSM producer Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace for “several hundred” more missiles.
Naval missile troops have plenty of active case studies to turn to. In the Black Sea, Ukraine has been able to hold back the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and even sink the Moskva flagship.
In the Middle East, the Houthis in Yemen have hit dozens of commercial ships and attacked Western warships in nearby waters. The group has even claimed to have fired on vessels in the Mediterranean Sea.
“I think that everybody at this time is getting some experience from those,” Gryglewski said of the two ongoing conflicts. “But that’s all I can say about this for the moment.”
(SANTA MARIA, Calif.) — Six people suffered non-life-threatening injuries from an explosion at the Santa Maria Courthouse in California, officials said.
One person of interest — an adult male — was detained and is being interviewed, Santa Barbara County Sheriff public information officer Raquel Zick wrote on social media.
Authorities believe the explosion was the result of an “intentionally set improvised explosive device,” Zick said.
The suspect allegedly lunged through the courthouse doors and tossed a small bag past the weapons screening station, and the bag exploded as it hit the floor outside of the local arraignment room, the court executive officer told ABC News.
The suspect ran toward his car and was apprehended by a deputy, the officer said. The man also reportedly had weapons and ammunition in his car, the officer added.
The bomb team is processing the scene, Zick said.
Police don’t believe there are any outstanding suspects, she added.
A spokesperson for Marian Regional Medical Center told ABC News the hospital received six patients in the incident. Three are in fair condition and two are in good condition, the spokesperson said. The condition of the sixth person is unknown but is not believed to be serious.
The courthouse is closed for the day and city buildings within one block of the courthouse are temporarily closed, said Mark Van de Camp, spokesperson for the city of Santa Maria.
A Firefighter works in a evacuated home in flames at El Cariso Village as the Airport Fire burns on September 10, 2024 in Lake Elsinore, California. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department arrested a man Tuesday in connection with the Line Fire ravaging areas east of Los Angeles since Sept. 5.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg, a 34-year-old man from Norco, was identified “as the suspect who started a fire in the area of Baseline Road and Alpin Street in the city of Highland, also known as the Line Fire,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a press release.
Halstenberg was being held on suspicion of arson with his bail set at $80,000, officials said.
The Line Fire — one of three large wildfires tearing through southern California — burned 32,905 acres and was at 14% containment as of Sunday night, with around 65,600 structures threatened, according to the latest update by Cal Fire.
Authorities issued evacuation orders for 13,300 structures with another 52,300 under evacuation warnings.
No structures are confirmed damaged or destroyed. Three firefighters have been injured in the effort to contain the blaze, fire officials said.
“The Line Fire continues to grow in steep terrain with difficult access, especially in the Big Bear area,” Cal Fire said. “Near-vertical slopes make putting in control lines challenging.”
Stronger winds were expected through Tuesday night, “which could lead to drops in relative humidity and greater fire spread,” Cal Fire said. “Towards the end of the week, cooler weather may moderate fire activity.”
California authorities are grappling with two other growing wildfires — the Bridge Fire in Angeles National Forest and the Airport Fire straddling Orange and Riverside counties.
Gov. Gavin Newsom requested Federal Emergency Management Agency aid Tuesday evening to “secure vital resources to suppress the Bridge and Airport fires.”
The Bridge Fire — burning since Sept. 8 — was at 34,240 acres and 0% containment on Tuesday night, Cal Fire said, having seen substantial growth throughout the day.
“High winds and low humidity are aiding the spread of the fire,” Cal Fire’s update said.
The Airport Fire — which began on Sept. 9 — was at 19,028 acres and 0% containment. The blaze is threatening 10,500 structures and has so far injured five firefighters and two civilians, Cal Fire said.
Newsom said in a Tuesday press release that the response effort across southern California includes “thousands of boots on the ground, including firefighters, soldiers, law enforcement and first responders, as well as air assets including 51 helicopters and nine fixed-wing aircraft.”
This week, the governor called in National Guard troops and aircraft to aid the fire containment efforts.
