Puerto Ricans fume as outages threaten health, work, school

By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Not a single hurricane has hit Puerto Rico this year, but hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. territory feel like they’re living in the aftermath of a major storm: Students do homework by the light of dying cellphones. People who depend on insulin or respiratory therapies struggle to find power sources. The elderly are fleeing sweltering homes amid record high temperatures. Power outages across the island have surged in recent weeks, with some lasting several days. Officials have blamed everything from seaweed to mechanical failures. The government calls the situation a “crass failure” that urgently needs to be fixed.