Puerto Rico was hit by another devastating hurricane on Sunday, five years after Hurricane Maria killed over 3,000 people and severely damaged the island's power grid. While the destruction caused by Hurricane Fiona over the weekend is still too recent to assess the damages, the storm brought over 100 mph winds and up to 30 inches of rainfall. According to AP News, rivers over-flooded across the island submerging ground-floor homes, cars, an airport runway, and a recently constructed bridge.
Hundreds of residents were reportedly evacuated, and as of Sunday afternoon, Puerto Rico’s governor, Pedro Pierluisi, confirmed on Twitter that electricity was out across the entire island. In response, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for federal resources, but the lasting effects of the storm are continuing to ravage Puerto Rico. Hurricane Fiona is also moving to neighbouring islands as the days progress, including the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, and Turks and Caicos.
If you're looking to help, the best way to get involved is by providing additional disaster relief. According to Luma, a private company that tracks electrical distribution across the island, they've been able to restore power to nearly 1,000 residents as of Monday morning, but the process could take days to complete. Puerto Rico has also set up an official website to update residents with information, resources, and many ways to help.
The PRxPR Relief and Rebuild Fund
Run by the Conservation Trust in Puerto Rico, the PRxPR Relief and Rebuild Fund is donating 100% of the money received to local Hurricane Fiona relief. As the infrastructure of the country is ravaged, the group works with local organisations to restore access to clean water and repair damaged roofs. Over the course of their work, the organisation has supplied children and the elderly with over 100,000 meals and fully repaired over 120 residential roofs.
The Hispanic Federation
The Hispanic Foundation has been working to repair homes and health centres across the island ever since Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico five years ago. The organisation also supplies over 25 chartered planes to carry 7.4 million pounds of food, water, medicine, and solar panels to fully-organised donation drop-offs in cooperation with town mayors.
Taller Salud
The women-led nonprofit Taller Salud is accepting non-perishable food, diapers, and gallons of water in Loíza, Puerto Rico. For those outside the country, they are also accepting monetary PayPal donations that will go toward water filters and solar lanterns.
American Red Cross
Thanks to millions of dollars in donations to the Red Cross, the organisation has been able to provide over 120 emergency shelters and set up temporary solar grid power systems. The group has also helped local hospitals, supplying blood packets needed to support injured patients. People in non-impacted areas are urged to give blood and platelets by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, but those outside the country can also help by donating to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund.
World Central Kitchen
After crossing the borders to help people in Ukraine, Chef Jose Andres's World Central Kitchen announced on Twitter that teams in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic were already preparing meals for those in need. Those who can donate to the organisation's efforts are urged to help so they can reach as many hungry and displaced residents as possible.
Josh Rosenberg is an Assistant Editor at Esquire, keeping a steady diet of one movie a day. His past work can be found at Spin, CBR, and on his personal blog at Roseandblog.com.
