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'Keep Posting Information': Puerto Rico Residents In The Dark After Maria Strikes

PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--As the rest of the world has monitored Maria, the people on the island of Puerto Rico have been left in the dark.  A blackout has consumed the commonwealth since the hurricane hit.

Now, residents say without electricity there's no way of knowing when the storm would ease and where it hit hardest.

The entire island has been without power since Maria made an early morning landfall on Puerto Rico's southeast coast as a category 4 hurricane. It then went on to sweep the rest of the island with torrential rain and winds that neared 150 miles per hour.

"The trees, everything is coming down on the street. There are a lot of fierce winds, they are very very strong,"  Jeannelish Deida tells CBS3.

Using a generator to power her cell phone, Jeannelish tells us that she cannot get in touch with her family elsewhere on the island.

Maria Causes 'Total Devastation' In Puerto Rico

Once flood waters recede she will attempt to drive to loved ones to make sure they are ok.

Without power or much of any cell service, residents have been relying on social media, to track where the storm is and what it has done to their island.

"Keep posting information on social media because that's the only way that we are looking for what happened because here we don't have communication," said Jeannelish.

Maria moved beyond Puerto Rico around 2 p.m Wednesday but the threat of further destruction continues.

With flood waters continuing to rise and the potential for mudslides looming a 6pm curfew was put into effect.

 

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