Nine public media stations bringing you stories of our rapidly changing region.
Photos: Puerto Rico Four Years After Hurricane Maria
By Joe AmonSeptember 20, 2021
Jose Carrasquillo Rivera stands in his Canovanas home, which still shows the damage caused by Hurricane Maria four years ago. He has been building a brick home nearby with his own money, dollar for dollar, he said on July 14, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
A gated community above Las Vegas is mostly back to normal while homes and roads in the town below are still in need in Cayey, Puerto Rico July 14, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
Angel Morales putting up form for the cement roof that he is putting on the home is is rebuilding for him his wife Diana Rivera. He is hoping to be able to live in it again before Christmas nearly four years after Hurricane Maria in Bayamon, Puerto Rico July 16, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
The lunch crowd during a hot and humid day at El Rey Del Mondongo in Centro Comercial Alturas de, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico July 10, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
Hair stylist Jose Rivera cutting the hair of his friend Pedro Quiñones in front of the Barrita Blasini. “I like to come out and show my work, he said” in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico July 15, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
Still living in a damaged home 80 year old Ines Martinez Rivera breaks into dance for her neighbors during a walk near her home in Barrio Buena Vista, San Juan, Puerto Rico July 10, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
Nereida Lebron grabs her granddaughter Kamil Reyeis 5, before she can get away while holding her 2 month old grandson Badricio Arevalo during a visit in San Juan, Puerto Rico July 16, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
Jose Luis Camacho Rivera in the doorway of the one room shack that has been his home for years waiting for his new home across the street to be finished in Barrio Buena Vista, San Juan, Puerto Rico July 10, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
A small dog guards what is left of a home that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria as the owner waits for ownership issues to be resolved and repairs or replacement can begin in Bayamon, Puerto Rico July 11, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
Cristobal Morales Rios 50, has basic electric and gas for the stove in his house. He has no indoor running water and seems to have given up getting help for his home after not being able to prove ownership of the property in Bayamon, Puerto Rico July 11, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
Cristobal Morales Rios 50, has basic electric and gas for the stove in his house. He has no indoor running water and seems to have given up getting help for his home after not being able to prove ownership of the property in Bayamon, Puerto Rico July 11, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
63 year old Elias Morales fiercly hugs a member of Club Semillitas de Amor, Inc a community group that has been his life line. His small home is not structurally sound and will need to be torn down but he is still living there waiting for an evaluation and has an unsure future in Bayamon, Puerto Rico July 11, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
63 year old Elias Morales in the gutted bedroom of his small home. It is not structurally sound and will need to be torn down but he is still waiting for an evaluation and has an unsure future in Bayamon, Puerto Rico July 11, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
A man with seemingly nowhere to go sits alone in a square that was teaming with people just a few short hours ago in San Juan, Puerto Rico July 14, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
Orlando Colon Martinez on his way up the mountain to cut sweet grass for his calfs on his farm in Cayey, Puerto Rico July 14, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
A lone cow on a mountain side farm in Cayey, Puerto Rico July 14, 2021. (Joe Amon/ Connecticut Public)
The effects of Hurricane Maria, a deadly Category 4 hurricane that swept Puerto Rico four years ago, left the island shaken. A series of earthquakes then rattled Puerto Rico, leaving many islanders who most need help still waiting and hoping for some sense of a normal life. Community leaders, neighbors and nonprofit groups are still scrambling for donations of food, clothing and money to keep the people of Puerto Rico going. Delays, lost documents and finding proof of property ownership have left homes in shambles with seemingly no hope of being rebuilt. Some people are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel and are slowly finding their way back to their Puerto Rico.
