After days of devastation by hurricane Maria, Island of Puerto Rico with a population of 3.5 million people has been put into total darkness.
Abner Gómez, head of the disaster management agency, said none of the customers of Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority had any electricity.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said “catastrophic” flooding was sweeping parts of the Island.
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said a man struck by flying debris was the only fatality reported so far.
Maria, weakened to a category two storm, is moving away from the U.S. territory and heading towards the Dominican Republic.
“When we are able to go outside, we are going to find our Island destroyed,” Mr Gómez was quoted as saying by the El Nuevo Dia newspaper.
“It’s a system that has destroyed everything in its path.”
Those who emerged from their homes in San Juan after the storm’s passing found streets strewn with debris, fallen power lines and shredded trees.
Mr. Rossello issued a curfew for 18:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Wednesday evening through early Saturday morning.
Hurricane Maria is the biggest storm to make landfall on the Island of Puerto Rico in almost a century.