presidential visit to the U.S. Virgin Islands and
Puerto Rico for Oct. 3. “No gasoline, no water,
no nada,” says Reynaldo Valdez, 57, driving
through a San Juan that looks as though it’s
been raked.
MARIA MADE LANDFALLon the island’s
southeastern corner, with sustained winds of
155 m.p.h. That’s more force than that of most
tornadoes. This particular cyclone covered the
entire island, which is 40 miles at its widest
point. “Imagine if a hurricane started in Florida
and ended up in Washington State,” NASA
disaster official Miguel Román pointed out.
“That’s what we’re dealing with here.”
As meteorologists watched the satellite
imagery—radar had been knocked out—Maria
stuttered across the island. The inland hills
that rise more than 3,000 ft. above the heart
of Puerto Rico were drawing moisture out
of the storm, which loosed torrents of rain.
Flash floods tore through valleys, and hillsides
collapsed, pulling down houses already shorn
of their roofs. Roadways were turned into
tunnels as trees on both sides fell into one
another. The entire electricity grid came
down, taking with it the pumps that supply
drinking water.
A week after the storm, 16 people were
reported dead, and 44% of residents lacked
potable water. A massive relief operation was
under way—the military planned 240 flights to
the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in one 24-
hour period—but in a territory nearly the size of
Connecticut, the challenge was getting the help
to remote areas.
Officials warn that it may be months before
power is restored across the island, not least
because the grid had decayed as the territory’s
government was engulfed by a metastasizing
debt crisis over the past few years. But while
Trump tweeted about the island’s debts to
Wall Street, officials understood that Maria
had also left behind the gift of leverage. More
Puerto Ricans now live on the mainland than
on the island. Migration, already up markedly
in recent years, may surge to new heights if
swaths of the territory remain unlivable.
“If we want to prevent, for example, a mass
exodus, we have to take action,” Rosselló said.
“Congress, take note: Take action. Permit
Puerto Rico to have the necessary resources.”
Outside the shuttered hotel she manages
in the capital’s beachside Condado district,
Evel Torres reinforced the point. “Everything
is closed in Puerto Rico,” she told me with a
smile. “I’m going with you to the States!” □