‘If you expect aid from the government, you have to be ready to wait days, weeks, months without getting anything.’
Like its Caribbean neighbours, Puerto Rico is situated in the pathway of an alphabetical carousel of annual hurricanes that leaves it increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. But unlike several of them – for instance, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley has become a leading advocate for climate justice, launching blistering attacks on rich nations and offering finance solutions – it has taken few actions to address the crisis.
In spite of being a US territory, and as world leaders address COP27 in Egypt to find paths forward for the ever-warming planet, the island provides a cautionary tale of how fragmented climate disaster planning deepens dependence and vulnerabilities.
Those in rural areas, in particular, see little proof that any planning is being done by the US government. In fact, many in the territory – an observer member of the vocal Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) negotiating group at the COP27 climate talks – say that relationship is a hindrance to action.
After Hurricane Fiona struck in September this year, The New Humanitarian visited to find out what progress had been made since the far mightier Hurricane Maria hit in September 2017, causing as many as 8,000 deaths, according to estimates.
Fiona, the mildest Category 1 hurricane – compared to Maria’s Category 5 status – still left at least 33 people dead and many residents worried about their future and struggling with hardships in its wake. The entire island was without power for weeks, and several residents said it felt like it was right back to where it was five years ago.
“I said to myself it couldn’t be as strong as Maria,” Fiona Ramos Torres told The New Humanitarian. “But when it started to blow and the roof began to shake, I thought, ‘we are going to die.’ The side door flew off, then we lost the roof and our bed flew away.”
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