Puerto Ricans on the island and in New York commemorate one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria devastation
From San Juan to the
"It's devastating to see what happened to our beautiful island," said
"I wanted to raise my 3-year-old grandson in the paradise I grew up in. But it is gone," added Toro, who says she lost her 72-year-old uncle, Hector Quiñones, in the storm. "He had Alzheimer's and he died in a nursing home. He was on oxygen, but there was no electricity and the the generators failed."
Twelve months and more than
Those lucky enough to get off the island and find refuge in places like
"Our island's infrastructure remains in tatters, as if the storm happened just weeks ago," said Bronx Borough President
"I have been back to the island several times since the storm. With each visit, I am shocked at how slow the rebuilding process has moved. In many ways it is as if there has been no progress since last year."
In
The Mayor of Loiza, one of the hardest-hit towns in
"It's the one-year anniversary, and we still have hundreds of people living under blue tarp roofs,"
"If you walk around, everything looks fine, the place has been cleaned up, but the mark of the hurricane remains," she said.
The latest census indicates that 352 families in the town of just under 30,000 residents are still without permanent roofs over their heads.
In many cases, residents inherited their homes from relatives, and were denied aid from the
More than 9,000 applicants across the island were denied aid for this reason,
The Abraham Lincoln lower school in Old San Juan commemorated the anniversary of the hurricane with a children's activity called "to serve is to learn." School children were instructed to bring in supplies that will be delivered to a local animal shelter.
They also created time capsules, including mementos from the anniversary, which they will bury at the San Felipe Del Morro castle in San Juan and open in 20 years.
He said crews lacked access to decent materials at the time, and were forced in many cases to improvise, using trees as power poles after Maria destroyed up to 75% of transmission lines.
"We stand with
Instead of returning to the island where he tossed paper towels to a crowd in October, Trump dispatched a deputy,
Carson announced in San Juan that
Back at St. Bartholomew's, there were prayers, psalms and speeches in English and Spanish as slides of the devastated island flashed by on a screen behind the speakers. A bell tolled during a moment of silence for the dead.
Around the altar were 3,000 small, flickering electric candles.
"Each of the candles represent one life lost, " said Peter Gudaitos of New York Interfaith Disaster Services. "We're gathered here to remember those who we lost in the hope that their deaths are not in vain."
For
"In the days after the hurricane, I thought everybody was going to die," Cruz said. "We didn't have food. We didn't have water. Nobody came. My home was destroyed...I still have flashbacks.
"It's weird talking about the numbers (of dead)," Cruz added, fighting her emotions. "People are still dying in hospitals. People are still struggling all over the island."
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