Aruba wakes up to flooding and power outages after severe weather

ORANJESTAD — Aruba woke up on Sunday to widespread flooding and power outages in several neighbourhoods after severe weather affected the island overnight and into the morning. The Aruba Police Force (KPA) reported that the San Nicolas area was hardest hit, while N.V. ELMAR said lightning strikes on high-voltage lines had disrupted electricity supplies in several parts of Aruba.

AVOID FLOODED ROADS

Police are urging the public to avoid roads in Pastoor Hendrickstraat, Zeewijk, Bernhardstraat, Savaneta and the area behind Pos Chikito. The warning comes as severe weather continues to cause difficulties in the affected areas.

POWER OUTAGES

ELMAR reported at 6:49 a.m. that a neighbourhood in Savaneta and another in Cura Cabay were without electricity. The company later added that Rooi Afo and part of Dakota were also experiencing outages caused by lightning strikes on high-voltage lines.

The weather also hampered efforts to restore electricity. By 8:01 a.m., technicians were already at the site of the outage in Yara, Savaneta, but had to wait until conditions allowed them to work safely.

In its morning update, ELMAR said its technicians were stationed in Zeewijk, Yara and Paradera. They had remained on standby because of the weather, but repairs in Yara had begun by the time of the announcements. 

To replace the damaged fuses, ELMAR said the entire “Yara” high-voltage line would need to be temporarily disconnected.

The company stressed that the safety of its staff and people in the affected areas remains its priority. ELMAR will continue to inform the public about the progress of repairs. As of its 10:11 a.m. update, it had not provided an estimated time for the full restoration of electricity.