Ernesto grows into Cat 2 hurricane as it aims for Bermuda, leaving many in Puerto Rico without power

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Ernesto strengthened into a Category 2 storm Thursday night as it barreled toward Bermuda after leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without power or water. Sweltering heat enveloped the U.S. territory, raising concerns about people’s health.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Bermuda, with Ernesto expected to pass near or over the island Saturday.

The storm was centered about 410 miles (660 kilometers) south-southwest of Bermuda late Thursday. Its maximum sustained winds had risen to 100 mph (155 kph), and the storm was moving north-northeast at 14 mph (22 kph) over open waters.

“I cannot stress enough how important it is for every resident to use this time to prepare. We have seen in the past the devastating effects of complacency,” said National Security Minister Michael Weeks.

Ernesto was forecast to possibly reach Category 3 strength Friday and then weaken as it approaches Bermuda, where it was forecast to drop 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) of rain, with up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in isolated areas.

“All of the guidance show this system as a large hurricane near Bermuda,” said the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Ernesto was then expected to pass near or east of Atlantic Canada on Monday.

Meanwhile, the spinning storm on Thursday was generating southern winds in Puerto Rico, which have a heating effect as opposed to the typical cooling trade winds that blow from the east.

“We know a lot of people don’t have power,” said Ernesto Morales with the National Weather Service as he warned of extreme heat and urged people to stay hydrated.

More than 290,000 of 1.4 million customers remained in the dark Thursday evening, more than a day after Ernesto swiped past Puerto Rico late Tuesday as a tropical storm before strengthening into a hurricane. A maximum of 735,000 clients had been without power Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands also were without water as many questioned the widespread power outage given that Ernesto was only a tropical storm when it spun past the island.

“I haven't slept at all,” said Ramón Mercedes Paredes, a 41-year-old construction worker who planned to sleep outdoors on Thursday night to beat the heat. “I haven't even been able to take a shower.”

At a small park in the Santurce neighborhood of the San Juan capital, Alexander Reyna, a 32-year-old construction worker, sipped on a bright red sports drink that friends provided as roosters crowed nearby above the slap of dominoes.

He had no water or power and planned to spend all day at the park as he lamented the lack of breeze, a slight film of sweat already forming on his forehead: “I have to come here because I cannot stand to be at home.”

The situation worried many who lived through Hurricane Maria, a powerful Category 4 storm that hit Puerto Rico in September 2017 and was blamed for at least 2,975 deaths in its sweltering aftermath. It also razed the island's power grid, which is still being rebuilt.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory on Thursday warning of “dangerously hot and humid conditions.”

Faustino Peguero, 50, said he was concerned about his wife, who has fibromyalgia, heart failure and other health conditions and needs electricity. He has a small generator at home, but he is running out of gasoline and cannot afford to buy more because he hasn't found work.

“It's chaos,” he said.

Officials said they don’t know when power will be fully restored as concerns grow about the health of many in Puerto Rico who cannot afford generators or solar panels on the island of 3.2 million people with a more than 40% poverty rate.

Crews have flown more than 540 miles (870 kilometers) across Puerto Rico and identified 400 power line failures, with 150 of them already fixed, said Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, a private company that operates the transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico. The remaining failures will take more time to fix because they involve fallen trees, he added.

“We haven’t seen anything catastrophic,” he said.

When pressed for an estimate of when power would be restored, Alejandro González, Luma’s operations director, declined to say.

“It would be irresponsible to provide an exact date,” he said.

At least 250,000 customers across Puerto Rico also were without water given the power outages, down from a maximum of 350,000. Among them was 65-year-old Gisela Pérez, who was starting to sweat as she cooked sweet plantains, pork, chicken and spaghetti at a street-side diner. After her shift, she planned to buy gallons of water, since she was especially concerned about her two small dogs: Mini and Lazy.

“They cannot go without it,” she said. “They come first.”

Electric workers carry out repairs in the community of Puerta de Tierra after the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

An electrical transformer explodes after the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Bartolomei)

A man fishes after Tropical Storm Ernesto passed through Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

La Plata river floods a road after Tropical Storm Ernesto passed through Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

A man pose with a fish after Tropical Storm Ernesto passed through Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

La Plata river floods a road after Tropical Storm Ernesto passed through Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 4 p.m EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Ernesto northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico and moving over open waters, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (NOAA via AP)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings let Danielle Hunter leave as a free agent this year, deciding not to pay market price for a player who'd flourished into the franchise's latest in a long line of prolific pass rushers.

Hunter joined the Houston Texans instead, jumping at the opportunity to play in his hometown for an on-the-rise team. Two games in, the unbeaten Texans are the NFL leader in sack rate per pass play (16.1%) while boasting the 10th-year veteran Hunter on one end and Will Anderson Jr., the 2023 Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year, on the other.

The Vikings are still getting after those quarterbacks, though, by the design and to the delight of defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

Hunter's departure in March was stemmed by the acquisition of free agent edge rushers Andrew Van Ginkel (from Miami) and Jonathan Greenard (from Houston, coincidentally). Then in April, the Vikings selected Alabama star Dallas Turner in the first round after ensuring they got a quarterback, J.J. McCarthy. The Vikings also picked up ninth-year veteran Jihad Ward in the second wave of free agency.

Those four players combined have roughly the same salary cap charge this season as Hunter. The Vikings will put their roster-building strategy and pass-rushing prowess to another strong test when they host Hunter and the Texans on Sunday, tasked with taking down C.J. Stroud, the 2023 Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

“We've got a bunch of guys that can all play, and we’re really using those guys,” Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said.

The Vikings are undefeated themselves, fueled by the league’s second-best sack rate (14.1 percent). Their group of versatile edge rushers includes fourth-year backup Patrick Jones II, who has four of the team's NFL-most 11 sacks.

“Flo did a good job of bringing in guys that are smart, dependable, tough and love football,” Van Ginkel said. “When you’ve got that, you’ve got a recipe for success.”

In beating defending NFC champion San Francisco last week, Minnesota forced the 49ers into a 2-for-10 performance on third down conversions. On eight of those 10 plays, Flores called for his race car package that takes the heaviest guys off the field and puts four pass-rush specialists on the line of scrimmage.

“Those five players are a huge part of how we put together the weekly plan,” O'Connell said.

Not that the Vikings wouldn't still like to have a player such as Hunter, who's landed in a formidable starting lineup with Anderson Jr. on the opposite side.

“It's really special when you can have two ends who play the way they can play,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said, adding: “They don’t say much, don’t talk much outside, but they love football and that’s what they bond on. Two guys who are about playing the game the right way. They’re intense, they’re physical players, and they love getting after it.”

Texans wide receiver Nico Collins leads the NFL with 252 receiving yards, the only player in the league with two 100-yard games. Collins, who had a career-high 1,297 yards last season, formed a unique bond with Stroud since the Texans drafted the quarterback second overall last year out of Ohio State.

“Reps after reps after reps, you accumulate those things over time and wait for moments like this,” said Collins, who was a third-round pick from Michigan in 2021. “So we make it look easy.”

Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson was forced out of the game late in the third quarter against San Francisco with a bruised quadriceps, but he has practiced on a limited basis this week and been trending toward being cleared for Sunday. Jefferson said on Thursday he'll play “for sure.”

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is fifth in the league in passer rating in a strong start to his reset season in a career that sent him to four teams in seven years since he was the third overall pick in the 2018 draft.

“I definitely feel very comfortable with the offense, with the system,” Darnold said. “I feel like I can continue to grow.”

Houston's Ka’imi Fairbairn was the AFC special teams player of the week after making all four of his field-goal tries against the Bears. He made three from 50-plus yards, including a 59-yarder that was the second-longest kick in franchise history behind his 61-yarder in 2021.

Fairbairn is 7 for 7 on field goals and 3 for 3 on extra points this season, with six makes from 50-plus yards.

“He’s always cool in the moment,” Ryans said. “He never gets too high or gets too low. He’s banging 59-yard field goals, and he still just comes to the sideline like, 'Hey, that’s what I do.’ So when you have that demeanor, I think it really helps you.”

The eight-year player has made a practice of meditation every morning.

“Just beginning each day, try to find that inner calmness,” Fairbairn said.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) is sacked by San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) scrambles away from Chicago Bears defensive back Kyler Gordon during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (24) runs from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (43) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass as he is pressured by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Minneapolis. The Vikings won 23-17. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, right, is grabbed by Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter (55) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)