Hurricane Maria: Puerto Rico
Events leading to Hurricane Maria
2006 – 2017: A prolonged economic recession affected Puerto Rico, contributing to a ten percent loss in GDP. The debt was as high as above seventy billion dollars. Many people in the manufacturing sector lost their jobs as others moved to the Mainland.
2016 – 2017: This was the period when the first event occurred. This occurred on the sixth of the month of September. According to Hosannah et al. (2021), Hurricane Irma was the first and had unpleasant effects. Some of the damages which were experienced included flooding, power outage among others. The infrastructure became worse due to multiple years of fragility.
The Event itself: Hurricane Maria
2017 – September 20th: Hurricane Maria hit the area via Category 4. It was about 135 knots (Marlier et al., 2021). Torrential rain was entertained by it. The impact was directly felt. It wrecked roads. Moreover, it was considered the strongest hurricane to be witnessed in Puerto Rico for around 89 years.
Response to and Aftereffects at the Time
2017 (September to October): The death toll was approximated to be three thousand people following Hurricane Maria. It contributed to the destruction of more than one hundred thousand residential places or rather units. Moreover, there was a total power outage on the island. This affected hospitals and water systems. The major players during this period encompassed the federal government, PR government, vulnerable populations, and FEMA. Elderly, disabled, and unfortunate families/communities were the vulnerable populations. The federal government delayed in response and failed to allocate sufficient resources. The government was using resources given by the U.S. to help themselves and their families while the rest of the country continued to struggle due to their poor management and corruption.
October – December: The period was majorly overtaken by the deepening of the humanitarian crisis. The community stayed an extended period without power. Besides, they were also impacted by water shortage and contamination. Others who posed big challenges were food insecurity and lack of proper healthcare system. Families from poor backgrounds and those residing on the mountain were the ones significantly affected.
2017 – 2018: Several people were forced to move. The need for jobs, better conditions, and healthcare services fostered the movement. Many people also went to New Jersey, New York, and Florida. The period also saw economic and agricultural collapse. Crops were destroyed, forcing people to depend on imports. The crisis led to a food insecurity crisis in the region.
Long-term Ramifications
2018 – 2022: There were individuals impacted by another disaster even as they sought recovery.
2022 – 2024: The rejuvination of the infrastructure was held down during this period.
2024 – 2025: It started to change the economy but it is yet to bounce all back. The other industries, especially the tourism industry, recovered but not to the same level before hit during the strike.
2025 and beyond: As it now stands, there exist issues, yet individuals are adjusting to them. It is interesting to note that the rebuilding of Puerto Rico still goes on despite the 8 years post-strike. The survivors continue to experience mental health problems. Moreover, economic opportunities are unavailable and this forces the residents to relocate to other locations in pursuit of a better life.
Then and Now
Then:Puerto Rico was left in complete darkness fro months. Hospital were not able to help people because thier equipment was not working. Most of the roads were complety destroyed. Thousand of people lost their jobs, homes and everything they once knew as their community. Many Puerto Ricans migrated to the U.S for better opportunitites.
Now: Puerto Rico is still facing many issues. Electricity is still being cut of every other day by the goverment. Many of the roads, estblishments and buildings that were destroyed during Hurricane Maria have not been rebuilt yet. But on the bright side many of the Puerto Ricans who migrated to U.S have started to come back and little by little rebuild their community.
Community Documentations
Museums: The PR History Museum has exhibits of Hurricane Maria. Individuals can always go there to see.
Memorials: September 20 of each year was going to be used to remind about the events of Hurricane Maria.
Academic Research: Institutions of higher learning are now undertaking research on the long term social and health impacts of the event.
Media Coverage: Documentaries are available, such as “After Maria.” Many Puerto Rican and Latin artist came together to make songs or sing togther in solidary with Puerto Rico.
References
Hosannah, N., Ramamurthy, P., Marti, J., Munoz, J., & González, J. E. (2021). Impacts of Hurricane Maria on land and convection modification over Puerto Rico. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126(1), e2020JD032493.
Marlier, M. E., Resetar, S. A., Lachman, B. E., Anania, K., & Adams, K. (2022). Remote sensing for natural disaster recovery: Lessons learned from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico. Environmental Science & Policy, 132, 153-159.
