One year ago Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico and it’s considered the most powerful storm to hit the island in a century. A Lubbock family got stuck there last year while visiting family and had to stay on U.S. territory for almost a month.
“I think it’s going to take a long time to put it the way it needs to be,” said Kevin Melendez.
“Long lines for gas. Going to the store to buy food there was extremely long lines and it was all limited,” Loraine Gonzalez-Melendez explains.
They had to bring their grandparents here to live with them and just recently they were able to go back in June.
“They couldn’t be at their house after it was damaged and also my dad has medical needs that he could only get in the us. Because in Puerto Rico medicine was rationed,” said Rosaida Melendez, “We didn’t have any communication for at least two weeks. I couldn’t find out if my family was okay and I couldn’t tell our family we were okay,”
Nearly 3,000 people were killed by the storm and there is still a lot of work to be done one year later.
“There’s still people living with the blue tarps on their ceilings. They don’t have roofs. They don’t have power. They’re still living without power,” said Kevin.
The Melendez family said they worry about another massive hurricane hitting while they’re still recovering from Maria. If that happens, they feel like the island is better prepared.
‘Sadly, the hurricane did a lot of damage, but from something bad, always comes something good. I think through this experience the good part is that Puerto Rico stood united,” said Loraine.
Right after the hurricane hit Puerto Rico, a lot of people from the South Plains jumped in to help. Electricians from X-Cel energy spent several weeks there helping to restore power. So far, billions of dollars have been investing in repairing the damages there.