el gato sin lluvia

fiona

many are asking, so i just wanted to provide a quick update on cats and storms.

i am not currently on puerto rico and had not planned to be for a couple weeks. september on PR is a great time to be “somewhere else.”

fiona is, like most things boriqua, being vastly over reported as a crisis. there was a fair bit of rain, some wind, but nothing to speak of in the north. san juan was affected very little. i did not even have my deck furniture taken inside and it was fine. did not lose a pillow.

have spoken to many friends in san juan, santurce, carolina, dorado, and guaynabo and all are fine. no damage, just some palm fronds spread around and the typical “the storm drain backed up” stuff. it’s a bit worse in the south (where the power plants are) but power is already being restored in sections and many SJ businesses (including grocery stores) are open.

there was some flooding down south and in some central rivers and, of course, the power went out, but that happens all the time. the PR grid is held together with bargain bin duct tape and bailing twine.

there do seem to have been some large scale mudslides/flooding in the west (like anasco) where the storm was stronger and the hills are steep and unstable. that may be some real damage. a friend in rincon saying it looks bad.

meanwhile, your humble narrator spent the weekend in the mountains where the view from the kitchen yesterday morning was this:

fall balloon lift

though the neighbors (and their children) are taking some liberties in the backyard…

moose mama and calf