Puerto Rico plunged into darkness
Most of Puerto Rico is without electricity and water in the days following a devastating hurricane, with the few open supermarkets now out of bottled water.
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- Christian Mendoza counts money in the aisle of a supermarket where he had hoped to buy water but only found cans of juice in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monday Sept. 25, 2007. Bottled water was gone from stores throughout Puerto Rico in the few stores open five days after the earthquake. (AP Photo/Ben Fox)
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- People wait in line outside a grocery store to buy food that wouldn’t spoil and that they could prepare without electricity, in San Juan, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. Most stores and restaurants remained closed Monday. Nearly all of Puerto Rico was without power or water five days after Hurricane Maria. (AP Photo/Ben Fox)
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- Maribel Valentin Espino sits in her hurricane-destroyed home in Montebello, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. Five days after the Category 4 storm slammed into Puerto Rico, many of the more than 3.4 million U.S. citizens in the territory were still without adequate food, water and fuel. Flights off the island were infrequent, communications were spotty and roads were clogged with debris. Officials said electrical power may not be fully restored for more than a month. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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- A man sits on a chair beside a road at night September 25, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where a 7pm-6am curfew has been imposed following the impact of Hurricane Maria on the island. (AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO)
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- People use their cell phones at night in one of the few places with cell signal in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 25, 2017, where a 7pm-6am curfew has been imposed following impact of Hurricane Maria on the island. (AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO)
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- A man checks his cell phone next to a road at night in one of a few places with cell signal in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 25, 2017, where a 7pm-6am curfew has been imposed following impact of Hurricane Maria on the island. (AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO)
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- A bartender talks to a couple at a candle-lit bar at night in Old San Juan, September 25, 2017, where a 7pm-6am curfew has been imposed following the impact of Hurricane Maria on the island. (AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO)
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- People make line at night at an ATM to withdraw money in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 25, 2017, where a 7pm-6am curfew has been imposed following impact of Hurricane Maria on the island. (AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO)
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- A woman uses her tablet at night in one of the few places with signal access in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 25, 2017, where a 7pm-6am curfew has been imposed following impact of Hurricane Maria on the island. (AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO)
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- People use their cell phones at night in one of the few places with cell signal access in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 25, 2017, where a 7pm-6am curfew has been imposed following impact of Hurricane Maria on the island. (AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO)
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- A group of people watch a movie at an makeshift outdoor theatre at night in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 25, 2017, where a 7pm-6am curfew has been imposed following impact of Hurricane Maria on the island. (AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO)
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- Rose Marie Garcia sits at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 26, 2017, having had a flight for today, the airline resceduled for October 8, 2017 The US island territory, working without electricity, is struggling to dig out and clean up from its disastrous brush with the hurricane, blamed for at least 33 deaths across the Caribbean. (AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL)
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- People carry water in bottles retrieved from a canal due to lack of water following passage of Hurricane Maria, in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, on September 25, 2017. The US island territory, working without electricity, is struggling to dig out and clean up from its disastrous brush with the hurricane, blamed for at least 33 deaths across the Caribbean. (AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL)
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- Maria prepares food during nightfall next to her home, destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, on September 25, 2017. The US island territory, working without electricity, is struggling to dig out and clean up from its disastrous brush with the hurricane, blamed for at least 33 deaths across the Caribbean. (AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL)
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- SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 23: Jaime Degraff sits outside as he tries to stay cool as people wait for the damaged electrical grid to be fixed after Hurricane Maria passed through the area on September 23, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico experienced widespread damage after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, passed through. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 23: People hang out near a business that is using a generator to keep its lights on as they wait for the damaged electrical grid to be fixed after Hurricane Maria passed through the area on September 23, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico experienced widespread damage after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, passed through. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- AIBONITO, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 24: People wait in line for gas as they wait for gas, electrical and water grids to be repaired September 24, 2017 in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico experienced widespread damage after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, passed through. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 25: Yancy Leon who has been waiting in line for two days to get an American Airlines flight out of the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport continues to wait as she tries to escape the conditions after Hurricane Maria passed through the island on September 25, 2017 in San Juan Puerto Rico. Some of the people have waited days at the airport in hope of getting onto a plane after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, passed through. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 23: People hang out as they try to stay cool as they wait for the damaged electrical grid to be fixed after Hurricane Maria passed through the area on September 23, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico experienced widespread damage after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, passed through. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 25: People sit in their apartment with the window blown out by the winds of Hurricane Maria as it passed through the area last week on September 25, 2017 in San Juan Puerto Rico. Maria left widespread damage across Puerto Rico, with virtually the whole island without power or cell service. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“It’s getting a little dystopian,” Joanne Namerow of San Juan wrote in a Facebook message. And she was one of the lucky ones, able to send messages on her phone charged at a Sheraton hotel lobby. Other people lost everything. “There are lines to get cash at the banks and ATMs. There are lines to get to into supermarkets to get basics. I couldn’t get bread today.”
Drinking water is unavailable and so is electricity, with even hospitals having difficulty staying open. “The main issue is the lack of power,” she said. “The electric system in PR was already old, obsolete and neglected. Hurricane Irma barely touched us and lots of people didn’t get power back until a few days before Maria hit. I spent 10 days without electricity and my brother and sister never got theirs back. The wait now could be months as the damage is a lot more severe.”
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