‘Like a Nuclear Bomb, Everything Was Gone’

Edrick Pagan-Ruiz runs a mobile jewelry store based in Yauco, in which he and his wife custom make all their jewelry, selling it on the island and shipping it to the States. Luckily, Pagan-Ruiz’s family home suffered minimal damage in the hurricane and was able to get it repaired. He resides higher up in the mountains on rocky terrain, which is “a more secure place to live,” he said. However, the same cannot be said for many of the neighbors in his community in Yauco on the southwest coast of the island. 

According to Pagan-Ruiz, a local radio station was calling residents in Yauco while the hurricane was approaching, checking in on them to see how it was going.  

“A pregnant woman was on a radio call live with her two children as the hurricane swept them away in their house,” Pagan-Ruiz said. “They didn’t survive.” 

At approximately 6:15 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time (AST) on Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico as a strong category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. As the center of the storm moved northwest over southeastern Puerto Rico and throughout the island, widespread hurricane force winds spread all over the mainland along with extremely heavy rainfall that produced catastrophic flooding.  

A 2018 Harvard Study found that the hurricane was responsible for 4,645 deaths in Puerto Rico, although according to the Puerto Rican Government, 2,975 people died. All studies of total fatalities range between these amounts, marking one of the deadliest disasters in U.S. history. The hurricane caused more than $90 million in damage. 

Unfortunately, many citizens of Yauco suffered similar fates, a historically poverty-stricken town that was impacted severely by the hurricane. Pagan-Ruiz recalled him and other community members seeing bodies flowing through the river in the city. At the edge of the town lies a baseball stadium that was blocking the flow of the river.  

“Dead bodies washed up in the baseball stadium,” Pagan-Ruiz said. “It was horrible.” 

He mentioned that the media “tried to hide it,” and didn’t want to portray how bad it really was in Yauco. Today, Yauco is more vibrant thanks to its murals, created by Samuel Gonzalez, that attract tourists, increasing the number of visitors to a once abandoned town. 

House Floats Down River 

Dolores Rosario lives in Salinas, a town on the southern coast of the island. She used to live with her family, but now resides on her own because of the hurricane. Rosario’s home was one of the thousands of houses destroyed in the hurricane. 

“My house was swept away by the hurricane and sailed down the river,” Rosario said.  

According to many residents, the hurricane created so much flooding that a river violently swept through many towns on the island. 

Rosario and other members of her family were welcomed at the local high school where they were given emergency supplies, like food, water and clothing. Rosario mentioned that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Red Cross helped supply them with necessities for three months while they remained sheltered at the high school. However, support stopped coming after that despite many Puerto Ricans still suffering from the aftermath.  

Rosario’s family are some of the estimated 200,000 Puerto Ricans that moved to the continental U.S. after the hurricane.  

“My family went to New Jersey,” she said. “They were scared of the river.” 

Rosario, who spent her whole life on the island, wanted to stay despite being worried about the possibility of another strong hurricane. Today, she rents an apartment in Salinas and pays monthly rent to her landlord that lives in New York.  

“Like a Nuclear Bomb” 

In the town of Yabucoa where Hurricane Maria first made landfall, residents Glenilex Trinta-Rivera and Ariana Delgado work at a local bar. They recalled what it was like in the aftermath.  

“I was 21 at the time, living with my grandma and two daughters,” Trinta-Rivera said. “Our roof was gone, and all our windows were broken too.” 

They stayed three weeks with her aunt and three weeks with her father while recovering from the hurricane. 

“I was so scared,” she said. “My daughters were crying and crying. We washed our clothes every day in the river.” 

She emphasized her dissatisfaction with the government, especially in rural areas like Yabucoa.  

“The neighbors are more helpful than the government” she said. 

Delgado’s father worked in emergency services, and her and her family sheltered in a hurricane-proof bunker. She didn’t see her father for weeks after the hurricane due to his job. 

Delgado was shocked by what she saw after stepping outside for the first time after the hurricane.  

“The whole mountain was wiped away,” Delgado said. “Like a nuclear bomb, everything was gone.”  

They agreed that power wasn’t restored until nine months later.    

In order to support her family financially after the hurricane, Trinta-Rivera had to move to the States for work. Her grandma wanted to stay in Puerto Rico, so she stayed with her daughters while she worked in the States for four years at different turkey plants, moving every six months. She was able to return last year, reuniting with her family.  

“It was hard being away, but I knew my grandma was taking good care of them,” she said.  

Trinta-Rivera has been preparing to be ready in case another strong hurricane hits. She said she is constantly saving food and water. 

Today, Yabucoa still loses power frequently. On April 28, Trinta-Rivera said they lost power at the bar three times, and that it’s rare to go a whole day without losing power at least once. She bought a generator for her daughters so they can do their homework even when the power is out.  

Their friend Damian Fernandez-Morales shared his experiences after the hurricane. He had little damage to his house, thanks to pre-installed aluminum panels in windows. However, he experienced many shortages of resources, including gas.  

“I had to wait in line for 17 hours to put gas in my car,” said Fernandez-Morales. “It was terrible, but I was lucky it could have been worse.  

He spoke about the importance of how they treat everyone like brothers and sisters. He and others were able to survive the hurricane because of how friendly and helpful everyone is towards one another in his community.