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Puerto Rico is a beautiful island that sits in the Caribbean Sea. The island is surrounded by perfect clear, blue water. Everywhere you turn, there are people singing and dancing. Puerto Ricans introduce new dances to tourists and teach those who don’t know the steps. You can smell all the good foods the island has to offer: the tostones, arroz (rice), and pinel (pork).

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There are small musicians singing their songs; their lyrics dance with the music. Everything is upbeat. The sun is beaming, there’s noise all over the place. You can feel the love of families, and see everyone laughing. It feels good to be in a place where everyone is happy.

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But, on September 6, 2017, the island was hit with an unexpected hurricane. Clash! Hurricane Irma took out two thirds of the island’s power! Oh no! By the time this storm was over, four people had already lost their lives.

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The island was shaken up. But slowly, they got back on track, until they found out about another hurricane to come. Experts named it Hurricane Maria.

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The Air Force thought that Hurricane Maria would be a tropical storm, one that would hit the Caribbean Islands. But, they were wrong! They saw that the storm was going 75 miles per hour, so they changed the storm's status to hurricane.

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Experts predicted that the hurricane would hit Puerto Rico. On Monday, September 18, 2017, it was discovered that the storm had a pinhole eye. A pinhole eye suggests that Maria, or any storm that has a pinhole eye, is maturing at a very fast speed and is getting stronger by the minute!

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The day before the storm hit Puerto Rico, 500 schools and other buildings became shelters for people who needed it. Almost 3,000 people decided to take shelter at the places provided for them.

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At 160 miles per hour, on Wednesday, September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria blew out the entire island’s power system. Ten people were dead by the day after the storm. The public power utility was also destroyed. In addition to the power being off, 1.53 million people didn’t have access to clean water!

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The people of the island lost their jobs and homes. Also, since only 20% of truckers were actually working, the island had trouble cleaning and rebuilding itself because there were barely any workers.

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After the hurricane, families had trouble finding drinking water, and there was no power and electricity in their homes. Most kids fell asleep and woke up in the dark, using the daylight time wisely.

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The people of Puerto Rico were devastated. They were traumatized. Being in the middle of the hurricane, between all the buildings and the storm itself, it really shook a lot of people.

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Almost a week after the storm, 9,000 military personnel were sent by the U.S. government to help calm things down. Today, the island is still recovering from the storm that happened three years ago.

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With the help of FEMA and other organizations, such as Junta, Puerto Rico and its people are slowly rebuilding their beautiful island one step at a time. A lot of people had no other choice than to move their children and/or families off of the island because they were not able to live their normal lives in Puerto Rico. Connecticut was one of the top states Puerto Ricans moved into.

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Since then, some families have returned to their beautiful island while others haven’t. Some families have decided to stay in the states for a while longer and have become accustomed to their ways. Some people couldn’t wait any longer to return home. The small island and it’s people are strong.

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A lot of progress has been shown, but, there is a lot more that we can do. Spread awareness for Puerto Rico! Big organizations are already trying to help Puerto Rico prepare for future disasters and helping the island come back from Maria. But visiting the island, volunteering there, and donating money can be a really big help.

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Visiting the island and donating will give the island more money to rebuild. By volunteering, it can also be a big help by not having to pay so many people, so that the government can focus on paying to fix builds. Puerto Rico has always been a beautiful island, don’t you want to see the crystal clear waters of the island one day?

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Hurricane Maria was a devastating storm, and it deserves more attention. Inside, you will read about what happened to Puerto Rico before and after the storm, and how Hurricane Maria affected the people who live there. People should know what happens outside of the fifty states because Puerto Rico is more than just “America’s territory.”

What Happened with Hurricane Maria?

KIANA CINTRON is a Puerto Rican high school student who spends her time with friends and family in New Haven, Connecticut. Growing up, she has been to multiple protests and has been actively spreading awareness on her social media about things and social movements that matter to her. She’s watched an insane amount of Netflix shows and documentaries about life in America, from all perspectives.

If you’d like to learn more about the author, you can follow her on Instagram searching @boricua.kiana. You can also email her at kianacintron29@gmail.com.