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Fiona causes floods and devastation in Puerto Rico
Ken Suarez reports
LAKELAND, Fla. - Hurricane Fiona passed through Puerto Rico, leaving extensive flooding and damage and devastating some parts of the country.
As soon as the hurricane hit Puerto Rico, Ana Rivera, who is with the Puerto Rican Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said she immediately tried reaching her relatives on the island.
Unlike other areas that experienced high winds and extensive flooding, Rivera’s family fared much better. Rivera's family is located in a town at the center of the country in the mountains.
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Even though they were not hit with the worst from Hurricane Fiona, Rivera's family has other worries now.
"If any power lines come down, it is going to take weeks for people to come up from the municipalities to fix the things and remove them so that they can come down and get the necessities they need,"Rivera told FOX 13.
Many members of Rivera’s family are better prepared now than they were when Hurricane Maria hit the island five years ago.
"A lot of them have invested in solar panels for their roofs," she explained. "They have cisterns where they can collect water, and they have generators, so they can have AC or fans running."
Hurricane Maria, a category 5 storm, ripped across Puerto Rico and neighboring islands leaving a wide swath of devastation in its wake. Maria was the worst natural disaster to ever hit Puerto Rico and nearby islands.
In all, it caused $90 billion in damage, and Puerto Rico still hasn't fully recovered.
A few months ago, Rivera went back on a business trip and was disappointed by what she saw.
"I was still seeing on the outskirts of San Juan, the work that has not been completed," she said. "Where are the funds that were supposed to bring that infrastructure back up to par?"
Helping the island get back on its feet is going to take even more money, The size of the investment depends on how much damage Fiona has caused, and that still has to be determined.