Essay On Hurricane Maria

Words: 485
Pages: 2

Infrastructure prior to Hurricane Maria was already in despair, as it was often described as aging, and frequently failed to link villages or communities to resource heavy cities (Dapena et al., 2017, “Hurricane Maria Live Updates: Structural”). The failure to recognize this weakness and lack of preparation for the possibility of villages and communities on the outskirts being cut off from supplies therefore exacerbated the damage. For example, only 392 miles of the islands 5,073 miles of road were open after the storm (Dapena et al., 2017). The lack of available roads left helicopters, one of the most expensive and limited forms of relief transportation, as the best vehicle to transport supplies. Furthermore, the intense flooding and destruction …show more content…
For example, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 70 percent of the island's water failed to meet the standards of the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act (Dorell et al., 2017). This failure to meet standards, coupled with the sewage and pipe system particularly in rural areas, led to unsafe and unsecure water. The already poor water system crumbled further after the storm, resulting in critical damage to the water systems quality and infrastructure. According to Governor Rossello, a week after Hurricane Maria hit, half of Puerto Rico's residents were without drinking water (Bump, 2017). Additionally, two weeks after the hurricane, 44 percent of residents still lacked water service (Henry, 2017, Bacon, 2017). Still, one month later 29 percent, or one million residents were still without tap water (Henry, 2017). Such a severe breakdown of the water system both immediately, and extending to months after the hurricane was exacerbated by the previous weakness of Puerto Rico’s water infrastructure. Such an ailing component, should have been recognized and addresses prior to the disaster, particularly as water is the most critical resource for