A common question I’m hearing about the latest hurricane is: “How does it compare to María?” That’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.
That was then.
This is now...
which still includes the impact of María.
The current situation takes into account a fragile and exposed electric grid and flooding comparable more to Hurricane Hortense from 1996. Like Hortense, wind speeds weren’t record breaking, but rain was. Also, reports saying the western part of the Island weren’t as affected are false and that’s what happens when you jump the gun to give information.
Major differences in favor of current day PR is that telecomms are still up for many parts of the Island and at least for me, I’ve been able to contact a lot of people throughout the Island. Still, communications are spotty in several areas and others are facing something very similar to María since they're completely disconnected. Their town has been demolished, they’re cut off from aid, they don’t have power, and they don’t have running water.
Was there wind damage?
Yes and for many farmers, it’s a complete loss of their crops. Were winds as strong as María? No. Were they over 100 MPH? Yes. A LOT of people are downplaying this system and its aftermath and for evidence, you just need to see pictures and video. This was not a glancing blow and this was no pushover storm.
Was the system more powerful when it hit Dominican Republic?
Yes and no. Make no mistake, DR Got hit and the system went
from category 1 to a solid category 2 in just a couple of miles. But the
results were NOT the same even though they have been impacted. From what I’ve read, DR only had 7% of the
population have services impacted. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico has if not 100%, then
close to it. Make no mistake, they're impacted, they took damages, and this was no summer storm but the issue with PR weren't the winds.
So what about rainfall?
Some places got 40+ inches of rain in a 48-hour period. Puerto Rico already had several weeks of rain and if soil was already saturated, that water needs to go somewhere. And it did. Straight through several municipalities. Being honest, some towns were basically washed out to sea and hundreds of families had to be rescued.
What is water and power like right now?
The answer as with many things is, it depends where you are. I don’t think I know of a single person who has had consistent power or water since before the storm hit. Some places have gotten power for a couple of hours here and there and other places have been without power since Sunday. Since the volume of water was so chaotic, dams and water treatment plants are still not fully operational for most people.
What are the areas that are most affected?
From what I’ve seen, central towns in the mountains and the entire southern half of the Island got slammed severely with a couple of towns in the North experiencing drastic flooding (see Manatí). As for the South, pretty much every town has had severe flood damage and catastrophic losses of property, crops, and transportation routes. Plenty of bridges have been washed away and plenty of routes are blocked off.
Why does this matter?
As happens too often, the Metropolitan Area and tourist areas like Condado were spared the worst, have reestablished communications, and they want to downplay. Below is a picture of the Puerto Rican Metropolitan Area.
Puerto Rico Metropolitan Area
It’s already small but what I’m referring to is actually less than half of what’s highlighted. There’s is more to Puerto Rico than Old San Juan, Condado, and the Metro Area. Some people need reminding of this and unfortunately those people are the decision makers in the government. It makes for a bad combination and will impact logistics of delivering the proper amount of aid and getting it to the people who need it.
What if I want to help?
Support small local orgs. They’re the ones doing real work and have no problem sharing where the money they receive goes to. I took 3 days to find 3 worthy causes I’m supporting and sharing on my feed because if past disasters have taught us anything is that you have to make sure who you’re sending your money to. In short, if I saw meeting pictures that only needed mimosas to look like a Sunday brunch, I won’t be mentioning or sharing.
I’ll share another post detailing these organizations I’m currently supporting and offer you quick access links. I’ll also be sharing posts on social media of businesses back home that I’m also supporting because any money you give to them is money that stays in the Island and helps other businesses.
If you have any questions or know of other small grass-roots organizations that deserve a mention, by all means, share on your socials and tag me so I can boost in whatever way I can. To everyone who has asked me for my family and friends, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Everyone in my family has been accounted for and I’ve been able to contact people in different areas of the Island, which is how I know that Telecomms are spotty but still working and that the situation is way more dire than they want to make it out to be.
If you found this helpful, by all means share it. If there’s a fact I got wrong, feel free to contact me via social media and I’ll do my best to correct as best as possible.
Peace, love, and bendición para nuestra Isla
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