Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria Paper Hi, how are you? please I need you to add point for the 1-PROJECT DATA where are the dates that correspond with you

Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria Paper Hi, how are you? please I need you to add point for the 1-PROJECT DATA where are the dates that correspond with your death toll changes. 2-LITERATURE REVIEW You start with the incident, What incident? You have to assume that the readers of your work don’t know and your should provide enough detailed information for them on the “event”. Unfortunately you have neglected to speak to the issue of deaths in disasters, specifically hurricanes. I do not see any information that pertains to deaths. Running head: PUERTO RICO AFTER HURRICANE MARIA
Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria
Name
Institutional Affiliation
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PUERTO RICO AFTER HURRICANE MARIA
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Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria
Abstract
Hurricane Maria remains a tragic occurrence in Puerto Rico’s entire history, particularly because
of the tribulations and destructions it caused. Specifically, it led to not only the destruction of so
many lives, but also properties, livelihoods, and residents’ dreams and aspirations. Even though
it goes into records as the country’s most severe storm, and indeed among the world worst
disasters, the number of people who perished in this storm remains elusive. In most part,
different organizations, including Puerto Rico and U.S. governments, recorded significantly
varying number of causalities. With such contradicting figure, establishing the exact number of
males and females who died is hard.
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Introduction
In September 2017, on a normal Wednesday just like any other day, Hurricane Maria hit
Puerto Rico, causing unparalleled devastation and driving all of the Island’s 3.4 million people
into a frantic humanitarian predicament. The hurricane particularly wreaked havoc throughout
Puerto Rico, destroying most of the things on land, including properties. Located in the
Northeast Caribbean Sea, the highly neighbors America and is commonly known as the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The region is also famous for its tourism destination, with most
tourists being attracted to its white sands and beaches. However, the area had already been
embroiled in a recession a decade before the hurricane struck it. Approximately half of the
residents of this island lived in deplorable conditions. The far-reaching consequences of this
hurricane were the worst in eight decades. It is also thought that these effects would hunt the
people of Puerto Rico for several years into the future. While several people have moved away
from Puerto Rico, the remaining residents would specifically require support and other forms of
assistance, from basic essentials, clean water, and economic recovery.
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Timeline and Deaths
On 6th September – Wednesday Morning
During this date, the region was hit by hurricane Irma, which was a significantly
powerful storm, particularly towards the Northern parts of Puerto Rico. The island also
experienced a deluge and estimated 100 miles per hour of gusts, though it avoided the farreaching effects of this storm (Meyer, 2017). This incident, hurricane Irma, killed approximately
four individuals. Moreover, it also cut off electricity power for the majority of the people while
some lose access to clean water (Meyer, 2017).
On Wednesday 13th September
This was seven days following the landfall. The region experiences slight winds, but with
low pressures. These winds are recorded moving both into the west as well as into the east. The
Island’s national hurricane center also believes that it will do more to prevent related incidents in
the days to come. In addition, the region also experiences significant oceanic heat and little wind
across the island.
On Wednesday 16th September
This is approximately four days into the landfall formation. The earlier experienced
winds are still felt. Caribbean Windward is also noted several miles into the eastern parts.
Nevertheless, at this point, convective bands have not started to form across the region. But,
major pressure had started to decrease (Eppinga & Pucko, 2018). The national hurricane center
also anticipated that a tropical storm could take place. Starting the season, it also continued to
provide forecasts for the tropical cyclones, even when the center had not yet established any
warnings or caused alarm for any impending disaster. However, at 11 in the morning, the center
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had dubbed the storm as a potential disaster and issued its first predictions for discussion.
However, by 5 pm the trough had become more powerful into the tropical storm, with a
projected 50-mile per hour winds (Meyer, 2017). The center then named it Tropical Maria.
On Sunday 17th September
This was three days into the formation of the landfall. The island’s national center, which
is responsible for the morning the country’s weather, continues to observe and monitor hurricane
Maria, frequently giving forecasts around the day. During the afternoon, the island’s security
forces, particularly the Air Force, go around the region and into the storm, recording speeds of
about 75-miles per hour winds. In the same evening, the center confirmed and announced that a
hurricane was likely to occur and it could cause disastrous effects on the island (Meyer, 2017).
The officials sent an alarm, arguing that the hurricane would form a landfall near the 12 pm on
the Wednesday of September 20th (Meyer, 2017).
On Monday 18th September
According to Meyer (2017), this date marked two days before the landfall. At exactly
5.00 pm in the evening, the center issued its first hurricane monitoring report for the island’s
government. With this report, the center describes the intensity of the storm and offers other
important weather factors, which establishes the likelihood of a disastrous hurricane. At this
time, the maximum speed of the storm is forecasted as 90 miles per hour, reflecting a significant
increase in speed from an earlier recorded speed of 75 miles per hour. During the day, the
predicated hurricane records some of the fastest pressure and intensifies as the center continually
keeps its track.
Later in the day, the center gives an urgent hurricane signal, warning the entire island that
anything could happen anytime. According to Meyer (2017), the hurricane was fast and furiously
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developing, which suggests that the storm was rapidly strengthening. At this moment, it is clear
that the center has learned of a major disaster and believes that the storm has the capacity of
reaching category 5 status. At around 8 pm, the island’s Air Force again flies across the
developing storm and records another worrying statistics, noting that its speeds have
considerably increased into 160 miles per hour from the 90 recorded earlier. At this speed, it was
clear that the hurricane had achieved the status of category 5. One hour later, it makes landfall in
the Dominica region, which is a small area on the island that has more than 70,000 residents. The
communication suffers a major blow shortly after the country’s prime minister makes a
statement.
On 20th September – During a Wednesday
The disaster befell the region, forming a large landfall at around 6 am in the morning.
The country’s national weather agency, responsible for monitoring weather events, records
sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, and therefore, making the incident the first far-reaching
storm to have hit the island in many years since 1932.
Number of Deaths
The first announcement by the government of Puerto Rico reported a total of six deaths
and 13 after two days of the incident. With the visit of the United States President, the death toll
increased to 16. Upon Trump’s departure, new reports from Puerto Rico indicated that 34 people
had perished. Surprisingly, CNN undertook a survey and reported about 499 related deaths while
months later, New York estimated that a total of 1052 residents had perished. On 27th August of
2017, the government of Puerto Rico officially released reports that 2975 individuals had died
from the storm. With these contradicting reports, it was apparent that the exact number of
PUERTO RICO AFTER HURRICANE MARIA
causalities could not be verified. Besides, no record of the number of males and females is
available.
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PUERTO RICO AFTER HURRICANE MARIA
Project Data
The government of Puerto Rico announced a total of 6 deaths, and 13 after two days of
the incident. The United States reported that the death toll increased from 16 to 34 people.
According to the CNN survey, a total of 499 people had died. According to the New York
Times, an estimated 1052 residents had perished during the incident. The last report from the
government of Puerto Rico estimated the deaths related to the storm at 2975 individuals.
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Project Literature Review
The incident first made landfall and was classified in category 4, having plowed across
the area with sustained winds of about 155 mph (Samenow, 2017). It uprooted trees, destroyed
weather stations and towers, and ripped off wooden and tin houses. Additionally, electricity was
also affected and completely cut from the island, making access to clean and safe water almost
impossible. It also made the availability of food unavailable for most of the duration of the
hurricane. Similarly, heavy rains as well as floods resulting from the storm worsened the
widespread crisis, almost turning the towns’ streets into rivers. In other areas, the floodwaters
were above the waist-height and more than 30 inches deep (Martinez-Sánchez, 2018). Most of
the waters were largely sewage ridden. Surprisingly, the majority of the property owners had
flood insurance covers. A large number of the Puerto Rico residents were practically compelled
into crossing swollen rivers into other parts, especially since all the bridges had been collapsed,
to purchase foods, gas, as well as other basic necessities (Martinez-Sánchez, 2018).
The hurricane remains to be known as the worst storm to ever strike this region, which
came a few weeks after another hurricane, Irma, had just passed in the Northern part of the
Island, leaving about one million individuals without power (Martinez-Sánchez, 2018). The
impacts of Puerto Rico were particularly extensive on families and into the Island’s infrastructure
and communication, which would take many years to recover and completely resume their
earlier states (Martinez-Sánchez, 2018). However, irrespective of the many challenges created,
residents are partnering and coming up with several initiatives, in efforts to assist their country in
the best way they can, be it by clearing debris or even through donating financial assistance. The
neighboring communities are also committed to building and helping this country back into its
position and into becoming even better than before.
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The scale of the incident’s destruction has also been largely devastating, leading to as
much as more than 90 billion dollars in damages, which is a crippling toll for the area that
already had billions in debts (Martinez-Sánchez, 2018). While the official deaths from the storm
are estimated to be 64 people, recent studies indicate that it had contributed to more than 1000
fatalities. For instance, some argue that 44 people died during the disaster and about 3000
residents died from hurricane associated complications five months after the incident. Among
many of those perishing from hurricane-related problems, a significant number died from
treatable illnesses due to power outrage, which made it impossible for people to access
antibiotics and other medical care. Meyer (2017) reported that the government had recorded 16
deaths during the incident. In addition, the hurricane also left many of the families without
shelters and completely destroyed their communities.
Following several months since the disaster, the effects of the hurricane remained
significantly clear. For instance, lack of electricity, lack of reliable communication means, and
running waters were the major challenges to the island as its residents continually strived to
return to their normal lives or a resemblance of normal living. About one-third of the residents,
representing roughly 1.2 million people, were affected by the blackout (Martinez-Sánchez,
2018). A projected 60,000 houses also remained roofless, months after the incident (Shuckburgh,
Mitchell, & Stott, 2017). While other people could access basic necessities, the roads still
remained poor and in bad conditions, meaning that many people still needed some form of help.
Specifically, the hurricane inexplicably affected the poorest of the Puerto Rico residents,
who had access to fewer resources and suffered most from poverty. These people needed most of
the assistance in efforts to recover and rebuilt (Samenow, 2017). Majority of the people also
lived in more remote areas, sometimes hard-to-reach communities in the island. Additionally,
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these groups of people were expected to be the last to obtain help, especially in terms of access
to water or electricity due to the complexity in developing good infrastructure into their areas.
Equally important, children and the young people of Puerto Rico were especially rendered
vulnerable (Shuckburgh, Mitchell, & Stott, 2017). For instance, many of the children and youths
suffered from physiological effects of the storm. They also depended on the resources as well as
aid they received from their schools, particularly as they strived to overcome their stresses. The
hurricane had disrupted the lives of about 350,000 students, which took several weeks before
schools started to reopen, even though the majority of the schools were operating without
electricity. There is at least one school in each of the city on the island which lacks proper
connection to electricity to date. Some of the public schools in the island have also been
transformed into community centers as well as shelters for homeless individuals, compelling
majority of the students to relocate into other areas to find alternate schools to continue with their
education (Shuckburgh, Mitchell, & Stott, 2017). It is approximated that approximately six
percent of the Puerto Rico students have so far left the island into other parts in search of
education since the Maria disaster. The remaining students continue facing many challenges,
including dealing with challenges of sustained breaks from their educations and the emotional
stresses of recovering from the hurricane.
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References
Eppinga, M. B., & Pucko, C. A. (2018). The impact of hurricanes Irma and Maria on the forest
ecosystems of Saba and St. Eustatius, northern Caribbean. Biotropica, 50(5), 723-728.
Martinez-Sánchez, O. (2018). Impacts from hurricanes Irma and María in the Caribbean. Sidebar
7.1. [in State of the Climate in 2017] Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society,
99(8), S202–S203.
Meyer, R. (2017). María Timeline. The Atlantic. Retrieved from
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/10/what-happened-in-puerto-rico-atimeline-of-hurricane-maria/541956/
Shuckburgh, E., Mitchell, D., & Stott, P. (2017). Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria: how
natural were these ‘natural disasters’?. Weather, 72(11), 353-354.
Samenow, J. (2017). Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s radar, a critical tool for
forecasting. The Washington Post. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/09/25/hurricanemaria-destroyed-puerto-ricos-radar-a-critical-tool-forforecasting/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c3151f3ce8f7

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