Puerto Rico

Nine days after the Hurricane Maria struck, Emilú De León and other volunteers opened a kitchen to serve meals to the people of Caguas. The first day, they fed 600, De León says.

National

Puerto Rico's Push For Food Independence Intertwined With Statehood Debate

11:39am June 04, 2018

by Jenna Miller

Before Hurricane Maria hit in September, the island imported most of its food. The storm sparked a movement to rely on local crops, and highlighted a complicated relationship with the U.S. government.

Jose Javier Santana says this torn and frayed Puerto Rican flag is representative of the state of the island now — eight months after Hurricane Maria hit.

National

Study Estimates Hurricane Maria Killed Nearly 5,000, But Barely Makes News

10:58am June 02, 2018

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon muses about how the media covered Roseanne Barr's tweet compared with a new count of the lives lost and devastated by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

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Luis Vázquez placed his shoes at the memorial in remembrance of his father, Luis Manuel Vázquez, who was found dead in his home two weeks after Hurricane Maria.

National

An Impromptu Memorial To Demand That Puerto Rico's Hurricane Dead Be Counted

8:28pm June 01, 2018

by Adrian Florido

Hundreds of pairs of shoes were laid out on the marble plaza in front of Puerto Rico's capitol building on Friday, representing hurricane dead who protesters say the government must officially tally.

A tree toppled by Hurricane Maria rests over damaged graves in the Villa Palmeras cemetery in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in December 2017.

Study Puts Puerto Rico Death Toll From Hurricane Maria Near 5,000

4:40pm May 29, 2018

by Richard Harris

The death rate is a contentious subject, in part because federal and island governments haven't responded as rapidly to the disaster as they have in other hurricane emergencies.

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A worker from the Cobra Energy Company, contracted by the Army Corps of Engineers, installs power lines in the Barrio Martorel area of Yabucoa, a town where many residents continue without power in Puerto Rico, on May 16.

National

FEMA Denies Contract Extension In Puerto Rico, Power Crews Head Home

6:48pm May 18, 2018

by Adrian Florido

About one percent of the island's customers remain without power eight months after Hurricane Maria. Officials say power restoration will be done by May 31.

Rafaela Serrano's house in the municipality of Caguas is still roofless eight months after Hurricane Maria. Countless homes on the island remain damaged two weeks before the start of the next hurricane season.

National

Puerto Rico Officials Say They're Ready for Hurricane Season, But Worries Mount

10:57pm May 17, 2018

by Adrian Florido

The head of the island's emergency management agency admits the government did not take hurricane preparation seriously before Hurricane Maria, but says all that's changed.

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View of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, on April 18, 2018, after a major failure knocked out the electricity leaving the entire island without power, again. The electricity was eventually restored, but 1.5 percent of customers have had no power in the eight mo

National

Puerto Rico To FEMA: Let The Power Crews Stay

5:58pm May 09, 2018

by Adrian Florido

The last of the federal government's power restoration crews are scheduled to leave Puerto Rico on May 18. The island's congressional representative wants a 90-day extension.

A damaged home in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Punta Diamante, Puerto Rico on Sept. 21, 2017. On Monday, Gov. Ricardo Rossello said the majority of federal recovery grants would go toward rebuilding homes and businesses.

National

How Puerto Rico Plans To Spend $1.5 Billion In Federal Recovery Grants

6:33pm May 07, 2018

by Adrian Florido

The grants were provided by the Department of Housing And Urban Development, and most of the money will go to rebuilding damaged homes and businesses.

Don Gregorio has lived all his life in the same home in Humacao, a city on Puerto Rico's eastern coast that was hard-hit by Hurricane Maria. Many of his old friends have since left for the mainland, the former carpenter says, and he feels very alone.

Listless And Lonely In Puerto Rico, Some Older Storm Survivors Consider Suicide

5:29pm May 07, 2018

by Sarah Varney

The electricity is back on across much of the island, but the disruption to community spirit continues. Isolation, anxiety and depression are up, as are suicides, especially among older adults.

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National

Restoring Power To Puerto Rico's Last Two Percent

3:00pm May 03, 2018

Seven months after Hurricane Maria, thousands of people in the Puerto Rican mountains are still waiting for the lights to come back on. Why is power restoration for the last two percent so difficult?