A couple walks on a dark street in San Juan, Puerto Rico after a major power outage hit the island on April 6, 2022. (Photo by Ricardo ARDUENGO / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images) SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Shuttered businesses.
Sleepless nights. Canceled classes. Hundreds of thousands of people across Puerto Rico remained without power on Friday, nearly two days after a fire at a main power plant sparked an island-wide outage.Crews have restored power to some 650,000 customers out of nearly 1.5 million, but people in several neighborhoods have complained that the electricity went out once again as the island struggles to emerge from the blackout that also left more than 160,000 clients without water.The outage forced the government to cancel classes and shutter agencies for the second day in a row on this U.S.
territory of 3.2 million people as frustration and anger bubbled over."This is unbearable," said Maribel Hernández, 49, as she wiped her forehead with a small blue washcloth that she hung over her left shoulder.RELATED: Puerto Rico exits bankruptcy after grueling debt negotiationHernández, who is recovering from cancer, has been sleeping on the concrete floor in her home’s narrow outdoor patio with only a sheet because her mattress doesn’t fit there.