PUERTO RICO HURRICANE MARIA RELIEF

October 3, 2017
by Rachael Russell

Early on Wednesday, September 20th, Hurricane Maria, one of the three most powerful hurricanes to ever hit the US, made direct landfall on Puerto Rico. Maria pounded the island and left it completely devastated. The category 4 hurricane, which had gusts of up to 150 mph, drenched the island with multiple feet of rain, destroyed buildings, paralyzed communication and left over three million residents without power. All this destruction came after hurricane Irma’s eye, a category 5 hurricane, had passed north of the island a couple of days before. 

These past few weeks have truly been catastrophic for Puerto Rico. This natural disaster has left 3.4 million US citizens living in extremely poor conditions; some of which have not been able to communicate for over 11 days with their loved ones, which has kept their whereabouts unknown. The government has been trying to supply basic services such as fuel, roads and communication, but it hasn't been easy. Half of the population still has no water to drink, bathe or flush toilets. There is a scarcity of food and medical assistance. Buildings are missing walls. But worst of all, the conditions of the diseased has worsen. 

The Puerto Rican authorities have been informing the press of their current situation hoping to get as much support and help from the rest of the country as possible. In return, a surge of fuel, food supplies and federal government personnel has begun to arrive to the island, but many of the supplies have been hung up in distribution centers. For example, in the San Juan port, many crates of supplies are stuck due to difficulties and lack of transportation. The situation in Puerto Rico is far from being over, schools may not reopen for weeks and people are losing hope.

Style Saves will be collecting donations in a full effort to help the people of Puerto Rico. Donations being collected will be delivered on site.