ST. CROIX — Virgin Islanders experienced power outages, flooding, and downed trees and branches in the roads today following Tropical Storm Ernesto, which hit the St. Thomas/St. John District hard Tuesday night before developing into a hurricane north of Puerto Rico.
“St. Thomas and St. John took a lot of the rain and the wind, but St. Croix was not left out of the activities either,” Daryl Jaschen, Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency director, said while giving an update at 10 a.m. today.
There was, however, no major damage throughout the Virgin Islands.
“I know it was a long night for many of you listening to that wind howl and the torrential downpour we’ve had but from my initial looks this morning, the territory is in good shape,” Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said during the 10 a.m. update.
Motorists are urged to stay of the roads considering there is still a potential for flash floods, and crews from the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority continue restoring power.
WAPA lost generation at the Richmond Power Plant on St. Croix at about 9 p.m. Tuesday because of extreme flooding, resulting in an island-wide outage, Shanell Petersen, WAPA spokesperson, told WTJX today.
WAPA crews have already restored power to several feeders in both districts, but their efforts will continue into the night.
Karl Knight, WAPA CEO, said while giving a virtual update at 5 p.m. today along with Jaschen that 75% of the customers on St. Croix should have their power restored tonight.
“That's the goal we’re going to push through into tonight, as long as we can do so safely,” he said. “To do so safely, we do ask that the customers stay off the streets as much as possible.”
The Virgin Islands Police Department issued an alert this afternoon announcing it would establish territory-wide traffic control points to direct traffic away from road clearing operations because the VI Department of Public Works was unable to safely complete road clearing due to the amount of traffic on the roadways. The VIPD urged motorists to delay their trip if they did not need to be on the road, adding that the governor would implement a curfew if the traffic control points didn’t work.
Although Hurricane Ernesto slowly moved away from the territory today, there is still the potential for significant amounts of rainfall in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico that could lead to flash flooding, according to the last tropical briefing for the storm issued by the National Weather Service at 2 p.m. today. A flash flood watch remains in effect for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico through Thursday morning.
Bryan said there was no need for anybody to be on the roads.
“I know right now the only concern we really have is making sure that you’re safe, you are not on the roads, that you’re not driving around, that you’re in your home and safe and secure,” he said.
As St. Croix resident Justin Johnson was driving west along East End Road this morning to check on properties he manages, he parked his vehicle in the road after passing a section of downed branches that blocked the westbound lane. He then took out his machete and started chopping away in the rain to remove the debris. Cory Nolan, also a resident, parked his vehicle to help Johnson after passing him while driving in the eastbound lane. Johnson said he jumped into action to prevent any vehicular accidents. He acknowledged the government crews that were out clearing brush from the roads could not be everywhere.
“You have to do something about it,” Johnson said. “You can’t complain because if you just complain, you’re part of the problem.”
Bryan said damage assessments are ongoing to determine whether he will declare a local state of emergency.
“We’re really looking now to make those assessments to see whether we declare a national territorial state of emergency and seek a presidential declaration, and most of that is strictly because cleanup costs,” he said.
The governor said he drove around in a Humvee with the National Guard.
“There’s a lot of branches in the road,” he said. “There’s a lot of water coming off the hills, down all three islands, and there is sporadic flooding in areas when you’re trying to traverse the streets.”
Bryan said some trees were also down, noting one next to Oriental Bank in downtown Christiansted that got uprooted.
All public schools and government agencies were closed today. Public schools will remain closed Thursday, but all staff will report to work to assess damages, Jaschen said. He said the Department of Education will then issue a press release announcing the reopening of schools that is anticipated for Friday. All government offices are expected to reopen at 8 a.m. Thursday.
All VITRAN services except paratransit services on St. Croix remain suspended territory wide until an “all clear” has been issued and it is safe to operate in the routed areas, DPW announced. Paratransit services will resume Thursday morning on St. Croix. Both of the territory’s airports successfully opened at noon today, Jaschen said. He said an assessment of the seaports will take place Thursday to determine when ferry service will resume between St. Thomas and St. John.
During the storm, 15 vessels territory wide broke loose from their moorings, Jaschen said. He said there were also a couple rescues Tuesday night to safely remove boaters from their vessels.
Liberty VI issued a statement announcing its mobile service was up territory wide as of 5 p.m. today. The VI Waste Management Authority issued a press release today announcing temporary sites to drop off storm debris.
Green waste from the storm will be accepted from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Sunday at the Anguilla Landfill on St. Croix, the Susannaberg Transfer Station on St. John, and in specially marked bins at the Nazareth and Cancryn bin sites on St. Thomas.
Bulk waste from the storm will be accepted from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Anguilla Landfill on St. Croix, the Susannaberg Transfer Station on St. John, and in specially marked bins at the Nazareth and Cancryn bin sites, as well as the Mandahl Convenience Center on St. Thomas.
