WASHINGTON—The impact of Hurricane Maria still affects the entire island of Puerto Rico, including its television stations. According to the FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System report from Oct. 12, WIPR in San Juan, Puerto Rico and WIPM in Mayaguez are still off the air.
Currently, only WKAQ-TV and Telemundo virtual Ch.2 UHF 28 are reported as being on the air. In addition, nine radio stations continue to be out of service.
There are reports that WIPR and WAPA TV (Ch. 4) have been able to broadcast by leasing other stations' antennas after their own were damaged in the storm.
There has been some improvement in the number of cell sites that continue to be out of service, though the number is still high. In Puerto Rico, 76.1 percent of cell sites are reported down, though that is down from the 88.8 percent of cell sites listed in the Oct. 1 report. The U.S. Virgin Islands still have 55.4 percent of its cell site out of service, down from 68.9 percent.
DIRS is still activated for all counties in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Here is the full Oct. 12 report.
