Getting to Know Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria

Hurricane Maria was a Category 4 hurricane that made a direct route over the island of Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. When Maria hit, the whole island lost power and had restricted access to sanitary water and food. It triggered around 94.4 billion dollars in destruction and destroyed almost all the island’s harvests. Even worse, the approximate fatality numbers from Maria is 2,975 people.

The storm caused major effects and damage to the island that can still be seen today. After the storm, countless of the Puerto Rican people left the island, as the aftermath was too much for them to stay. It is anticipated that even more citizens are likely to leave in the forthcoming years since the hurricane is still having lasting effects. There are presently still thousands of residences that are dilapidated, causing countless families to remain residing under provisional blue tarps.

Hurricane Maria had the greatest influence on Puerto Rico’s poorer citizens. They have fewer funds to assist in their reconstruction and are even more limited to necessary supplies like food and water. The biggest phycological damage was done to children and the younger population. Many of them had to experience their homes and community being destroyed and may have even lost people close to them. All the public schools were also damaged because of the storm and it took five weeks for the first one to open again. Currently, many of the schools are open again, however the student population has experienced a major decrease as many students left the island with their families as soon as they could.

Thankfully, as more time goes on, there are more and more people are progressively returning to normal life. Power has been reestablished to practically every part of the island and most of the population no longer has difficulty obtaining access to clean water.

The Overall Effect

Hurricane Maria caused a major decrease in tourism, which its economy heavily depends on. After the storm hit, all the resorts were demolished and many businesses have still yet to open, leaving many tourists to shy away from the island until it gets more rebuilt. However, Hurricane Maria’s destruction was not the only thing driving away tourists. After the storm hit, many of the island’s people fled to America and are still doing so. Although, many people from other countries believed this was for different reasonings. With Puerto Rico having high crime rates in the past, tourists believed they were also leaving to flee the danger. This creates many misconceptions about Puerto Rico and their citizens living there, especially with the large number of the people being unemployed and the bad economy. These misconceptions are not true. The current crime rates in Puerto Rico are essentially lower than most US States. Although the delusions are incorrect, they still cause horrible influences on Puerto Rico’s tourism. With the awful misapprehensions and destruction done by Maria, it will take a while for the island’s economy to ever get back to what it used to be. 

References

History.com Editors. “Puerto Rico.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/us-states/puerto-rico-history.

“Puerto Rico.” The Virtual Caribbean Library, ggccaribbean.wpengine.com/listing/puerto-rico/.

Rossi, Joseph. “Misconceptions about Puerto Rico: Crime.” Pasquines, 2 Sept. 2015, pasquines.us/2015/09/02/misconceptions-about-puerto-rico-crime/.

“The Facts: Hurricane Maria's Effect on Puerto Rico.” Mercy Corps, 3 Nov. 2020, www.mercycorps.org/blog/quick-facts-hurricane-maria-puerto-rico.