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Long Road to Recovery for Puerto Rico After Maria

Puerto Rico has a long road of recovery after Hurricane Maria made landfall Wednesday as a category four. 

The entire island is without power and officials say it could take up to six months to restore. 

“There’s no TV. There’s nothing, no internet,” said Reggie Diaz, who lives in San Juan. “We have radios, AM radios and we’re listening to the news. The government is trying to reach out to everyone by radio.” 

Hurricane Maria has claimed the lives of at least 39 people, 13 on Puerto Rico alone. 

Families are trying to reach their loved ones, but with 95 percent of the island’s cell service down it’s nearly impossible. 

“Everyone is just trying to reach family to see if everyone is ok,” said Diaz. 

In coastal towns like Loiza, power lines are submerged in water while people seek safety on the roofs of their homes. 

“There’s a town here called Toa Baja, west of San Juan, which is in the coast,” said Diaz. “I heard they’re rescuing people. They just rescued 2,000 people.” 

Officials said nearly 4,000 people have been rescued so far. 

Grocery stores and pharmacies remain closed. Some people, desperate for food, are looting. At least eight people have been arrested. 

“The gas stations, you can count on your fingers how many are open,” said Diaz. “They have like 200 people waiting in line.” 

Those who do have generators are hoping to keep them running with rationed amounts of gas. 

“We were going through economic problems but like this is so different to see everything so wrecked,” said Diaz. 

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