On Sept. 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico leaving the island without power. Many have been criticizing the media saying that the media has not had enough coverage about Puerto Rico and it’s power outages. Some speculate the lack of media coverage is, because Puerto Rico is U.S. territory, not an official state. Others say the lack of media coverage is because Puerto Rico isn’t as large as some states. Regardless of the reason for the lack of media coverage, it is important to know about the effects the power outages have had and will have on the island.
About 3.4 million Puerto Rican residents are without power, and only 11 of the 69 hospitals in Puerto Rico actually have electricity. It has been reported that it could take up to a year to restore power to the island. As a society we have grown very dependent on electricity, and the lack of it in Puerto Rico will have detrimental affects.
Puerto Rico residents will not receive the healthcare they are in great need for. The hospitals are not equipped to work without power, and most of the hospital generators only work for eight hours. There have already been reports of surgeries having to be cancelled due to lack of power, and other patients not getting the care they need because the hospitals just cannot care for them without power. People connected to ventilators or receiving home healthcare are also largely at risk, because without power and with few generators on the island this care is almost impossible to receive.
About half of the population of Puerto Rico is currently without portable water. In order for water to be sanitized power is necessary. Without power it is almost impossible to get clean water, thus leaving millions without water. Aside from water, without electricity there is no air conditioning. This puts residents of the island at risk for heatstroke. They are not even able to flush toilets; this puts them at risk for even more diseases.
The power outage doesn’t just pose a health threat to residents of the island, but an economic threat as well. With power being sparse on the island it is impossible to buy something, and pay with a credit card or even so much as take out money from an ATM. Restoring the power is also going to put the island more in debt than they already was creating an even larger economic issue.
There are countless other serious problems that residents of Puerto Rico will face as a result of the power outages. With the damage done it is now time for the citizens of Puerto Rico to restore the island as much as possible. We can help too by donating time or supplies to the relief efforts.