Those who are Puerto Rican Survived Hurricane Maria seven years ago And now struggling to not only live in Florida After Milton, but they The emotions that arise during reminiscences are also treated One of the deadliest And the most devastating tragedy.
“Honestly, it was one of the most painful experiences of my life,” Cecilia Rosa de Leon, who lives in the greater Orlando area, said of Maria.
De Leon, 26, drove about an hour east from his home in Apopka on Wednesday to pick up Milton with some of his relatives. They boarded up the home's windows and placed pool foam under the door and garage to keep water out.
“It’s very scary,” De Leon said, “because you never know what’s going to happen.” His vigilance and efforts to prepare for the worst were informed by his experience surviving Maria in 2017, a Category 4 hurricane.
De Leon was living in Puerto Rico with his father and stepmother, in a house in the mountain town of Canovanas, when Maria died. The windows blew out during the storm, flooding the house with two to three feet of water, De Leon recalled. Her family used some household tools to quickly repair the windows, hoping to avoid flooding, and kept the doors closed until the storm passed so the house wouldn't collapse.
In retrospect, De Leon said, the biggest mistake he made after that was underestimating the intensity of the storm, leaving him less prepared to face Maria's unprecedented consequences. His family was without enough food, without means of communication and without power. After Maria's attack, when they left their home to assess the damage, they discovered that some of their neighbors had not survived the hurricane.
“They died. Among them was an elderly couple. The roof fell on them as they slept. It was very exciting. After Maria, that's when I really had respect for what hurricanes are and the importance of being prepared,” said De Leon. he said.
Maria's aftermath nearly claimed the lives of 3,000 people in the US region, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the US in 100 years. A research team led by Harvard University estimated that a third of deaths after Maria were caused by delays or interruptions in medical care, mainly because of: Long blackouts.
Milton It made landfall at 8:30 pm Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane in Siesta Key, Florida, a barrier island near Sarasota. As of Thursday afternoon, at least nine people were confirmed dead in the immediate aftermath of the storm. More than 3.3 million power customers in the state were also without power, according to poweroutage.us.
“It looks like Maria Part 2. It’s terrible,” Shailier Figueroa said as he gathered with relatives near Kissimmee and waited for Milton to reach the mainland on Wednesday.
“You could see the panic starting Sunday,” he said, as people formed long lines for gas and food pantries began to empty. But Figueroa, 30, has been stockpiling supplies since August — just before the start of hurricane season. It became a habit after running out of essential supplies in Maria's wake, Figueroa said.
Figueroa was one of more than 100,000 Puerto Ricans who left Puerto Rico after Maria. While many eventually return to the island, thousands migrate to states like Florida – in search of safety, economic opportunity and a place to rebuild their lives.
For Jesus Eduardo Aponte Feliciano, 22 years old, facing Milton was a source of dread, as it was the first time he had fought a hurricane as an adult.
“It's been hard right now because I'm alone in Florida,” said Aponte Feliciano, who works as a lifeguard in Orlando. “I could have gone to Philadelphia or Georgia to be with family, but I decided to stay here because I need to work and people always need help after a hurricane.”
Aponte Feliciano was just a teenager when he survived Maria in Puerto Rico. Memories of later losing his grandmother, living without electricity for more than a month, having no running water at home and riding his bike to get drinking water flashed through his mind this week. But keeping him calm is all he can do to stay in his apartment for a week and have enough supplies to live with his roommates.
“Hurricane Maria changed our lives and I think we should never underestimate any hurricane or natural disaster,” Aponte Feliciano said in Spanish. “We will prepare for a Category 1 as if it were a Category 5.”
