The US Drought Monitor map dated September 22 puts 53 of 78 municipios in at least moderate drought (D1). The worst tier, D3 extreme drought, covers 12 of them, led by Guánica, Lajas and Santa Isabel.
60 of the 78 municipios (76.9% of them) are at least abnormally dry. Since the last map this desk published, no municipio worsened and 44 improved, while 34 stayed in the same category.
The biggest moves: Aguas Buenas (extreme drought to severe drought). In the week to September 25, the biggest reservoir fall was Guineo, down 0.24 m (Desborde band), and the biggest rise Dos Bocas, up 0.87 m.
The tables below carry every category, the municipios in the worst tier and each reservoir’s week.
By category
| Category (US Drought Monitor intensity category) | Municipios (Municipios whose worst category on the map is this one) | Share of 78 |
|---|---|---|
| No drought | 18 | 23.1% |
| D0 abnormally dry | 7 | 9% |
| D1 moderate drought | 8 | 10.3% |
| D2 severe drought | 33 | 42.3% |
| D3 extreme drought | 12 | 15.4% |
| D4 exceptional drought | 0 | 0% |
Where the map is worst
| Municipio | Category | Share of area (Share of the municipio's area at this category or worse) |
|---|---|---|
| Guánica | D3 extreme drought | 100% |
| Lajas | D3 extreme drought | 97.1% |
| Santa Isabel | D3 extreme drought | 95.7% |
| Guayanilla | D3 extreme drought | 57.1% |
| Cabo Rojo | D3 extreme drought | 51.8% |
| Juana Díaz | D3 extreme drought | 40.6% |
| Ponce | D3 extreme drought | 39.2% |
| Peñuelas | D3 extreme drought | 31.3% |
The 8 municipios with the largest share of their area at D3, of 12 in that tier.
Week over week
| Municipio | Last map (Worst category on the previous map) | This map (Worst category on this map) |
|---|---|---|
| Aguas Buenas | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Aibonito | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Caguas | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Canóvanas | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Carolina | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Cataño | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Cayey | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Ceiba | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Coamo | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Culebra | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Fajardo | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Guaynabo | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Gurabo | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Humacao | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Juncos | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Las Piedras | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Loíza | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Naguabo | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Río Grande | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| San Germán | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| San Juan | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| San Lorenzo | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Trujillo Alto | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Villalba | D3 extreme drought | D2 severe drought |
| Adjuntas | D2 severe drought | D1 moderate drought |
| Guayama | D2 severe drought | D1 moderate drought |
| Hormigueros | D2 severe drought | D1 moderate drought |
| Jayuya | D2 severe drought | D1 moderate drought |
| Luquillo | D2 severe drought | D1 moderate drought |
| Orocovis | D2 severe drought | D1 moderate drought |
| Vega Alta | D2 severe drought | D1 moderate drought |
| Yabucoa | D2 severe drought | D1 moderate drought |
| Arroyo | D1 moderate drought | D0 abnormally dry |
| Ciales | D1 moderate drought | D0 abnormally dry |
| Maricao | D1 moderate drought | D0 abnormally dry |
| Maunabo | D1 moderate drought | D0 abnormally dry |
| Morovis | D1 moderate drought | D0 abnormally dry |
| Patillas | D1 moderate drought | D0 abnormally dry |
| Vega Baja | D1 moderate drought | D0 abnormally dry |
| Arecibo | D0 abnormally dry | No drought |
| Barceloneta | D0 abnormally dry | No drought |
| Lares | D0 abnormally dry | No drought |
| Manatí | D0 abnormally dry | No drought |
| Utuado | D0 abnormally dry | No drought |
The reservoirs
| Reservoir | Level (m) (AAA chart reading, meters above the reservoir's datum) | 7-day change (Change against the reading seven days earlier) | AAA band (AAA's operating band: seguridad, observación, ajustes, control) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guineo | 902.21 | down 0.24 m | Desborde |
| Cerrillos | 166.93 | down 0.21 m | Seguridad |
| Patillas | 65.55 | down 0.14 m | Seguridad |
| Guayabal | 102.57 | down 0.08 m | Observación |
| Matrullas | 734.80 | down 0.06 m | Seguridad |
| Toa Vaca | 147.11 | down 0.04 m | Seguridad |
| Garzas | 736.07 | down 0.03 m | Seguridad |
| Carite | 542.36 | down 0.02 m | Seguridad |
| Caonillas | 251.81 | down 0.01 m | Seguridad |
| Cidra | 400.53 | unchanged | Observación |
| Carraízo | 40.68 | up 0.04 m | Seguridad |
| Guayo | 443.03 | up 0.07 m | Seguridad |
| La Plata | 44.56 | up 0.16 m | Ajustes |
| Fajardo | 47.60 | up 0.26 m | Observación |
| Lucchetti | 171.47 | up 0.30 m | Seguridad |
| Guajataca | 196.46 | up 0.36 m | Seguridad |
| Loco | 69.68 | up 0.47 m | Seguridad |
| Río Blanco | 26.09 | up 0.55 m | Observación |
| Dos Bocas | 89.90 | up 0.87 m | Seguridad |
Levels are AAA’s chart readings for September 25; the change is against September 18.
The full map, colored by category, is on the water page, next to the reservoir board and the rationing schedule. This is the 4th Drought Watch (the previous one is here).
Source: US Drought Monitor (NDMC, USDA, NOAA) county statistics for Puerto Rico, map dated Sep 22; reservoir levels from AAA’s published chart. USDM categories are a weekly expert synthesis of indicators, not a rainfall total; municipio shares are area-weighted.
Corrected October 7: an earlier version gave the share of municipios as a share of the island; it is a count of towns, not of land.