A State of Emergency was declared in Puerto Rico Thursday, a day after a blackout left all 3.5 million people there without power. Many New Yorkers have been anxiously trying to reach friends and relatives on the island to see if they are OK. NY1's Roger Clark filed the following report.
Jamie Rodriguez of East Harlem says he is worried about his family in Puerto Rico, including his 86-year-old Dad.
"They do have some generators so I think they will be okay but it depends on how long this goes on for," Rodriguez says.
Rodriguez was among countless New Yorkers concerned about relatives in Puerto Rico dark after a power plant fire led to a blackout Wednesday across the island. Malfunctioning generators contributed to the problems by causing fires.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has been checking in on her Mom in Puerto Rico.
"It raises serious concerns about the fragility of the infrastructure and the dependence on one source of electricity. We should really be thinking expanding to solar and other options," Mark-Viverito said.
Lymaris Albors was in Puerto Rico when the lights went out. She made it back on one of the few flights out of San Juan.
"By 4, 5 o'clock everybody jumped into the highway and leave and pick up kids from schools and the traffic was really bad," Albors said.
One issue for many in one of the city's epicenters for the Puerto Rican community is contacting loved ones - some were anxious to check in but could not reach anyone.
"I am concerned now because it's elderly family I have over there, definitely," said John David.
"I've got my grandmother, my grandfather, my cousins, uncles - my whole family is over there," said Ladislao Irizzary, who did not hear from them.
Those with Puerto Rican heritage like Richie Cruz say the blackout is a double whammy - considering the economic crisis the U.S. Commonwealth is currently enduring.
"A lot of people are worried," Cruz said. 'They are. Because they figured that maybe it's the deterioration of the infrastructure, which is true."
As one East Harlem resident said, the financial troubles cannot be solved overnight, hopefully the power troubles will be remedied much quicker.