User:Latterrior/Effects of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

Emotional impact

Many people were not equipped to handle the lasting effects of the damage this storm wrought on the island. Food and potable water were hard to come by, even months after the storm, compounding feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Blackouts ravaged the island after the hurricane hit, knocking out power to hospitals which stretched the healthcare system. Patients noted that their services were cut down, while healthcare providers called out the Puerto Rican government for "abadoning" them during a stressing time. New and expecting mothers experienced a greater exposure risk to health issues because Hurricane Maria created an environment for pathogens and environmental toxins to thrive.

Survivors have stated they will never forget it. Suicide rates spiked after Hurricane Maria, especially among the elderly. Cases of depression also increased and, in some cases, lead to weight loss. Some still feel the emotional effects while looking at pictures or recounting stories. For the young people on the island, witnessing the aftermath has left them with high levels of posttraumatic stress disorder. The number of indirect deaths from the stormed greatly surpassed that of direct deaths from Maria, but also the direct and indirect deaths of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma which made landfall around the same time.

Anxiety was high among survivors as well, with many fearing health issues and injuries. On the western side of the island, it was rumored that water was being pumped by AAA to homes from Guajataca. The damage to the reservoir and further rumors that the lake was going to run dry increased levels of anxiety in residents of the region. When water service finally returned, it was unreliable and many still depended on bottled water. **add citations to this original text*

Impact on gender-based violence and the LGBTQ+ community

The long lines to access vital resources increased numbers of sexual harassment against women; furthermore the lack of government resources for employment and housing made it difficult for women facing domestic abuse to escape, increasing the likelihood of becoming a victim of intimate partner violence (IPV). A record number of 23 women were murdered and classified as IPV in 2018, and the numbers went up each year after. The intimate partner violence rate in Puerto Rico jumped to 1.7 per 100,000 women in 2018, while the rate was 0.77 per 100,000 in 2017.

Criticism of U.S. government response

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The U.S. government had a dramatically different economic relief response to Puerto Rican hurricane survivors compared to those impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the continental United States. After Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, individuals and families in each case were awarded nearly $100 million in FEMA relief, which came just 9 days after the storms passed. In that same time frame, Maria survivors were awarded just oveer $6 million in FEMA relief. Within two months after Harvey and Irma hit, $1.28 billion (Harvey) and $899 million (Irma) was given to survivors; Maria survivors did not reach that $1 billion threshold until 4 months after landfall.