Series
Fiona aggravates the disaster in Puerto Rico
Resumen
On the fifth anniversary of the devastation caused by Hurricane María, Puerto Rico woke up with a new catastrophe whose dimension remains to be seen after Hurricane Fiona landfall.
In the mountains, river overflows, landslides, and road sinkholes were the reason for most of the calls for help. In some cases, the response came from the government and in others, from relatives, friends, or neighbors who, desperate, decided to act due to the imminent life risks they saw.
The rain accumulation up in the mountains produced an extraordinary current that caused many rivers to overflow, but also caused rivers and reservoirs to overflow, and on their way to the ocean, flooded residential and commercial areas in several municipalities.
Follow CPI coverage of the socio-environmental disaster and the oversight of the recovery process here.
Historias en la Serie
Puerto Rico, the Island Most Vulnerable to Disasters, Lacks an Energy Assurance Plan
By Eliván Martínez Mercado | December 13, 2022
Antes del huracán Fiona, el Gobierno no se aseguró de que los suplidores de diésel estuvieran listos para suministrar el combustible.
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Post-Maria Law, Aimed At Providing Diesel to Radio Stations in an Emergency, Is Useless
By Luis Joel Méndez González | December 13, 2022
In the midst of the collapse of the island’s electrical system after Hurricane Fiona, the Bureau for Emergency and Disaster Management failed to comply with the Essential Communicators Act, which compels that agency to facilitate access to fuel for broadcasters, who found it hard to fill their backup electric generators with diesel.
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Puerto Rico Was Promised Billions for Safe Water. Taps Are Still Running Dry.
An analysis by CPI and The Post found that despite ample federal funding, less than 1 percent of the FEMA and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) money slated for the island’s public water utility corporation since 2018 has been set aside to buy generators for water pumps. Local officials instead relied on a patchwork supply of emergency units but failed to get many in place ahead of the storm and supply them with enough diesel.
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Poor Conditions of Bridges in Puerto Rico Raise Doubts on Ability to Withstand Future Cyclones
By Rafael R. Díaz Torres | October 27, 2022
The Department of Transportation and Public Works informed that 16 bridges suffered damage after Hurricane Fiona struck, but a Center for Investigative Journalism investigation found that this number is wrong and that, from those 16, nine bridges had their strength and stability seriously or severely affected prior to the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico on September 18.
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Digital Platform Would Expedite Puerto Rico’s Death Count and Record-keeping, Government Says
By Jeniffer Wiscovitch Padilla | September 30, 2022
The tool is not yet working to its total capacity because hospitals have not completed the training. About 50% of the information on deaths is still collected manually.
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No Solutions to Prevent Blockages in Irrigation Channels During Severe Floods in Puerto Rico
By Víctor Rodríguez Velázquez | September 29, 2022
Communities around the irrigation channels, whose conditions worsened due to the flooding caused by Hurricane Fiona, will continue to be at risk because there are no immediate solutions to prevent obstructions during extraordinary rainfall events, experts and the government of Puerto Rico told the Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI, in Spanish). Although the Federal Emergency […]
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Hurricane Shelters Without Water and Electricity Don't Comply With the Law
Hurricane Fiona’s first gusts were barely blowing when dozens of mayors had to improvise solutions. When they arrived at the locations that the government of Puerto Rico certified as shelters, they found they had no water tanks or power generators. At that time, a copy of Act 88 sat on a desk.
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Puerto Rico Health Dept. Repeats Hurricane Maria's Mistakes During Fiona with Patients Who Depend on Electricity
By Eliván Martínez Mercado | September 25, 2022
The day before Hurricane Fiona made landfall, Petra Rodríguez tried to turn on the power generator she had just bought, but it arrived damaged. She needed electricity to power the electric pump with which she feeds her 93-year-old mother, who is bedridden, and to operate the adjustable bed and inflatable mattress, which keep her from […]
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