On September 20, 2017, a category four hurricane named Maria struck the small island of Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria caused catastrophic destruction to the island of about 3.5 million people. Hurricane Maria caused massive flooding, destroyed thousands of homes and structures, severely damaged the communications system, poisoned the water system, and disabled the country’s power grid. Hurricane Maria would be categorized as one of the strongest storm to roll across Puerto Rico. This review will discuss the issues of preparation, response, and mitigation reference to this disaster.
Puerto Rico is a small island off the coast of Florida. The island is about 100 miles long and 35 miles wide. Although Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean Sea, …show more content…
The 155 MPH winds knocked down trees, power lines, and blew roof tops off homes and buildings. One of the most critical components to any community, electricity, was completely wiped out. Losing power to the entire island led to a loss in their communication system as well Without power and communication, Puerto Rico was lost. Mass flooding and large piles of debris made it difficult for responders. What caused an even more challenge for this territory was the fact they had not even began to recover from Hurricane Irma which struck the island two weeks before Maria. What Irma left standing, Maria knocked …show more content…
(2013). Preparedness and Response for Catastrophics Disasters. Boca Raton: CRC Press [Ch.10].
Byrne, M. (2018, March 18). Written testimony of FEMA Office of Response and Recovery Assistant Administrator for Field Operations Mike Byrne for a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security hearing titled “Bureaucratic Challenges to Hurric. Retrieved from dhs.gov: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/03/22/written-testimony-fema-house-oversight-and-government-reform-subcommittee-national
Calma, J. (2017, October 20). The U.S. Could Have Avoided Puerto Rico's Water Crisis. Retrieved from grist.org: https://grist.org/article/the-u-s-could-have-avoided-puerto-ricos-water-crisis/
Campbell, R. J. (2017, October 3). Puerto Rico and Electric Power Restoration. Retrieved from fas.org: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/IN10785.pdf
CIA. (2018, April 25). World Fact Book: Puerto Rico. Retrieved from cia.gov:
Puerto Rico is a small island off the coast of Florida. The island is about 100 miles long and 35 miles wide. Although Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean Sea, …show more content…
The 155 MPH winds knocked down trees, power lines, and blew roof tops off homes and buildings. One of the most critical components to any community, electricity, was completely wiped out. Losing power to the entire island led to a loss in their communication system as well Without power and communication, Puerto Rico was lost. Mass flooding and large piles of debris made it difficult for responders. What caused an even more challenge for this territory was the fact they had not even began to recover from Hurricane Irma which struck the island two weeks before Maria. What Irma left standing, Maria knocked …show more content…
(2013). Preparedness and Response for Catastrophics Disasters. Boca Raton: CRC Press [Ch.10].
Byrne, M. (2018, March 18). Written testimony of FEMA Office of Response and Recovery Assistant Administrator for Field Operations Mike Byrne for a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security hearing titled “Bureaucratic Challenges to Hurric. Retrieved from dhs.gov: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/03/22/written-testimony-fema-house-oversight-and-government-reform-subcommittee-national
Calma, J. (2017, October 20). The U.S. Could Have Avoided Puerto Rico's Water Crisis. Retrieved from grist.org: https://grist.org/article/the-u-s-could-have-avoided-puerto-ricos-water-crisis/
Campbell, R. J. (2017, October 3). Puerto Rico and Electric Power Restoration. Retrieved from fas.org: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/IN10785.pdf
CIA. (2018, April 25). World Fact Book: Puerto Rico. Retrieved from cia.gov: