Puerto Rico: Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico's southeast coast on September 20,
2017, with sustained winds of 155 mph — its strongest hurricane in
nearly 90 years. The storm knocked out the island's power grid,
shut down virtually all cellular communication, and destroyed
nearly all traffic lights, leaving residents without sustainable
access to food, water, electricity, or medical care for months.
The human toll has been estimated at 2,975 deaths, and total
damages at $115.2 billion.
Our family in the U.S. probably thought we were dead
We met Natasha, a micro-biology student at University of Puerto Rico,
in the central mountain region of Utuado. With available plywood becoming
scarce before the storm, Natasha's family boarded their windows with
layers of cardboard, and spent much of the storm soaking up rain water
that found its way into the house through the cracks around windows
and doors under the pressure of the winds.
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