The team supporting the government to develop the plan conducted damage and needs assessment within specific sectors and across sectors. The plan was developed, aligned with existing plans such as Build Back Better Puerto Rico, the Plan for Puerto Rico, the National Disaster Recovery Framework, and the 2018 Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Action Plan. It developed the Economic and Disaster Recovery Plan with support from federal legislation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC). To build back better in recovery from this devastating hurricane, the Government of Puerto Rico established the Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction, and Resiliency (COR3) to play a central role in the recovery effort. A pre-existing decade-long economic crisis consisting of structural, demographic, health, social and infrastructure issues exacerbated the damage to the communities on the Caribbean Island. The hurricane affected nearly every resident of Puerto Rico, but older adults, children, people living with disabilities and chronic illnesses, and women were disproportionately affected. The hurricane caused damage to already fragile infrastructure which had cascading impacts on lifeline infrastructure systems such as energy, transportation, access to health and essential services. Hurricane Maria was subsequently one of the worst disasters in Puerto Rico’s history, killing at least 2,975 people based on the independent study conducted by George Washington University, which was commissioned by the Puerto Rican government, and partially or completely destroying approximately 166,000 residential buildings. In Puerto Rico, Hurricane Irma killed 4 people and brought about widespread power outages and water service interruption for several days, which left at least 900,000 people without power and 50,000 without water. Martin, Turks and Caicos Islands, the mainland United States of America and the U.S. Hurricanes Irma and Maria also affected a number of neighbouring countries and territories including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, St. Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, made landfall on the island of Puerto Rico on 20 September 2017, less than two weeks after the category 5 Hurricane Irma passed the northern part of the island.

Puerto rico hurricane aftermath 2017