Community Chat

[gertrudecloset]

My prayers have been sent up to everyone in Puerto Rico.  Why no mention of the ravages for our people over there?

Most people in Puerto Rico woke up Tuesday without access to power or water after Hurricane Fiona ravaged the island, a bleak reality that closely resembles what residents endured exactly five years ago with Hurricane Maria.

"I could not imagine any of this," Raquel Oliver Lopez, a resident of Levittown, a community in the municipality of Toa Baja, said in Spanish. "This is a tough feeling."

Up to 30 inches of rain have fallen in parts of Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Fiona, overflowing rivers and small streams. The persisting rains have resulted in landslides, destroying roads and leaving dozens of families stranded across many different towns, including Juncos, Bayamón, Coamo, Toa Alta and Caguas, among others.

“More significant rains are expected, further increasing the risk of landslides,” Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said in a news conference Tuesday.

Oliver Lopez’s family is among the many Puerto Ricans still without power or water as a result of Hurricane Fiona.“My 88-year-old grandmother lives next door to me, and the thought that she is facing this again is difficult for me,” Oliver Lopez said, concerned about her grandmother’s health after she was recently discharged from a hospice.

Oliver Lopez's family was stricken by grief in 2017 when her husband’s 94-year-old grandmother, Abuela Paulina, was one of the at least 2,975 people who died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. territory in 100 years.

Many of Maria's deaths, including Abuela Paulina's, were caused by the lack of electricity of more than a year and the ensuing interruptions in medical and other services.

Currently, most of Puerto Rico’s nearly 1.5 million power customers remain without electricity after an islandwide blackout was reported Sunday about an hour before Hurricane Fiona’s eye neared Puerto Rico’s southwestern coast.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, about 300,000 customers had their electricity restored, which represents roughly 20% of all customers, according to Luma Energy, the company in charge of power transmission and distribution in Puerto Rico.

A Luma Energy spokesperson said in a news conference Tuesday that they hope to energize most of Puerto Rico by end of day Wednesday.

About 60% of all water service customers, over 760,000 customers, had not had service restored as of Tuesday morning, according to Puerto Rico’s Water and Sewage Authority.

Four deaths have been reported in the wake of Hurricane Fiona. Two men died in the aftermath of the hurricane: One was dragged by currents of an overflown river, and the other had a deadly accident with a generator. Two other people who died in shelters are believed to have died from natural causes; however, officials are waiting for the Institute of Forensic Sciences to confirm that.

Fiona's historic rainfall caused water levels to rise in areas that have never flooded. This was the case in the southern town of Salinas, which is among the most affected regions.

About 400 residents there had to be rescued and taken to shelters, the most of any town, following unexpected flooding.

More than 1,000 people across 25 towns were rescued and sheltered under similar circumstances, government officials said Monday.

On Tuesday, Mirielys Romero and other Salinas residents returned to their homes for the first time since they were flooded Sunday.

Romero said she was surprised to see the current damage since Hurricane Maria, which was a Category 4, did not bring as much devastation as Fiona, a Category 1 hurricane that brought more heavy rains than strong winds.

"I don’t know how to explain it yet. It’s so bad," Romero said.

[Kachina624]

@gertrudecloset    What do you mean, why no.mention?  I've heard plenty of mention on the news.

It's hard to know what's going on there.  Seems like little has been done to recover from their last hurricane five years ago despite the millions the US has given for their recovery.  According to many reports much of the money has been misappropriated.  Corruption seems to be rife in Puerto Rico..

I suppose now we'll pour more money into hurricane relief which hopefully will be used as intended.  Perhaps some oversight is in order?

[gertrudecloset]

---

@Kachina624 wrote:

@gertrudecloset    What do you mean, why no.mention?  I've heard plenty of mention on the news.

It's hard to know what's going on there.  Seems like little has been done to recover from their last hurricane five years ago despite the millions the US has given for their recovery.  According to many reports much of the money has been misappropriated.  Corruption seems to be rife in Puerto Rico..

I suppose now we'll pour more money into hurricane relief which hopefully will be used as intended.  Perhaps some oversight is in order?

---

What I meant by no mention was in a thread that was created that did not mention those in Puerto Rico.  It talks about how it's making it's way to other locations, but no one mentioned the damage it has already done in Puerto Rico.  That's what I mean @Kachina624 .  Of course there is news coverage.  Just like there is news coverage that discusses its current trajectory.

My comment was why no one mentioned in the thread that was started here, today.  It's all worked out now, ok because I mentioned it by starting a thread about it.

[spiderw]

I have been reading about the devastation and seeing it on TV .  What a horrible storm and how tragic for Puerto Rico to be going through yet another destructive hurricane.

I know they will get help and since so many utilities need to be repaired and replaced  it will take time for Puerto Rico to have stability again.  I hope everything is reinforced and improved upon as I don't think as many upgrades were done after the previous hurricane which did so much damage.

I am sorry for all those suffering and struggling, may the people get the help they need, rise up from this disaster and face a better future.

[Trailrun23]

Prayers for so many who are devastated once again by such a violent hurricane. Puert Rico seems to never quite be finished recovering from a storm before another hits. Now tropical depression # 9 is forming and it appears it will threaten almost the entire state of Florida next week. 

[chrystaltree]

We know.  It's been covered all over national news, local news, online news, cable news and the internet.  Just 5 years after the last devastating. life changing hurricane but this time our government took quick and decisive action to help.

[Johnnyeager]

This has been a lead story on all the local NYC stations for days, most sending reporters for coverage.  How can anyone say it is not being reported?

[granddi]

I just finished reading a detailed history of Haiti. If anything could go wrong in their history it has. From the colonial days of France and Spain to the 10+ year US occupation, its a bonified disaster.

Example: During WWI/II the US went in a distroyed sugar cane crops and planted rubber plants. The plants never trived.But the land was badly damaged.

When the slaves, declared their independence from France, France said OK but you have to pay repariations. Haitiian's said we dont have any money. France said "that's ok we will loan you the money with interest. Hatians have been repaying France for 150 years. 

During the Kennedy years, the US paid Haiti to NOT convert to communism as did Cuba. The money went straight to the political pockets. What a surprise.

[gertrudecloset]

@chrystaltree @Johnnyeager I guess you all didn't read the entire thread.  I know too.  My thoughts went to a thread that is present here somewhere, where many were concerned about the Hurricane's threat in their path, but not one person mentioned the destruction already caused in Puerto Rico.

That was my point.  There was more news coverage about the Queen's death than there was of the horrors of that storm in Puerto Rico.  Of course there was news coverage.  I wasn't talking about media coverage.  I wanted to know why no one here in another thread mentioned our neighbors in Puerto Rico for prayers being offered.

[Starpolisher]

@gertrudecloset 🤗

Thank you for this post. I have family in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Thank God, they are all safe. Only one of my cousins got water in the bottom floor of her home from the heavy rain and flooding. It left behind a lot of mud!😩 They are still without power. All prayers are welcomed!🙏🏼🇵🇷