The disasters that Hurricane Maria caused

Imagine losing everything, from your most valuable things to your least valuable things, so unexpectedly by a terrifying occurrence of nature.

This is what happened to many people from Puerto Rico in the Dominican Republic and many other countries where a hurricane hit their homeland on September 18. That hurricane has been identified as Hurricane Maria.

The devastating tragedy of Hurricane Maria was so intense that it became known as one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S history. Many people for months thought that the number of deaths caused by Hurricane Maria was 64, but later on it was discovered that number might have been leaning closely to 3,000 deaths.

Hurricane Maria started by hitting numerous islands in the Caribbean on September 18, which started off as a Category 3 but later on doubled its strength in just 24 hours and became a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 175 mph on September 19, making its way through the Leeward Islands. It later moved to the Caribbean Island of Dominica in a region that had already been affected by Hurricane Irma. Hurricane Maria moved on, hitting Puerto Rico directly as a category 4 with 155 mph winds, becoming the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years. The hurricane also hit the Dominican Republic.

People were in horrible conditions during the time of the hurricane. Hurricane Maria could have caused anywhere from $40 to $95 billion in damage. When the storm hit it took out 80% of the islands’ power transmission lines. Because of this, many people’s lives were at risk. Many people were left without medical care, electricity or water for months. The hurricane destroyed homes, roads and bridges; the conditions were so bad that it took four to six months until power was finally restored in some places.

A year after Hurricane Maria, many people were still recovering. They finally got their electricity back nearly a year after the storm and restored clean water, but they were still trying to fix all the other damage that the hurricane caused. People from Puerto Rico still have some common power outages and some even have tarps instead of roofs. The damages caused by this horrifying event have even caused people to move away from the islands. Due to the hurricane, some businesses continue to suffer from destruction and decreasing tourism. Some businesses have up to 90% dropped customers. Some people are still displaced and have to be living with friends, family or even at shelters because their homes being destroyed.

Puerto Rico still needs a lot of help today, which is why people are donating money to help them rebuild some roads and homes, but most of all, to help the people get in stable conditions.

People are even volunteering to help, others have raised up to $32.4 million to help those that were affected by Hurricane Maria. Some of the ways people are helping is by planting trees, helping clean up the coast, and helping the ecosystems in Manti.

People can volunteer to farm, help paint schools, help local animal shelters providing homes for abandoned dogs and cats, help cook and package fresh meals for the many people who need it, food distribution and home reconstruction, and so much more.

Puerto Rico and all the other places that were affected need all the help they can get. Just because the hurricane happened a year ago does not mean that the suffering that came with it is also gone.

If you’re interested in donating, you can go to https://www.gofundme.com/togetherpuertorico to help.

Sources:
ttps://www.cnn.com/2018/08/29/us/puerto-rico-growing-death-toll/index.html
hhttps://money.cnn.com/2017/09/28/news/economy/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-damage-
estimate/index.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-is-now-one-of-the-deadliest-disasters-in-
u-s-history/
https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/hurricane-maria-facts
https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/united-states/quick-facts-hurricane-marias-effect-puerto-rico
https://www.ajc.com/news/national/puerto-rico-still-needs-help-list-volunteer-opportunities-
charities/VEq25CB895CTBXZW0TtiIK/

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