BROWN: No electricity, little water -- plenty of despair in Puerto Rico

LOIZA, Puerto Rico — One month after Hurricane Maria pummeled this oft-overlooked piece of the United States, the mayor of Loiza is just one of many who has her hands full picking up the pieces.

Julia Nazario had barely been in office nine months when the storm struck her community of 30,000 people on the island’s northeast coast.

She ticks through the grim picture:

Two hundred ninety eight families lost their homes completely. Another 596 lost their roofs, essentially making their homes uninhabitable. Add in other damage from wind and flooding and the tally of unlivable dwellings reaches 3,000, she said.

Loiza has no electricity. The water system comes and goes, but even when it comes, the residents are afraid to drink it because of contamination.


More: https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/brown-no-electricity-little-water-plenty-of-despair-in-puerto-rico/



One month after Hurricane Maria, electrical poles still teeter precariously over a street in Loiza, a community of 30,000 people on Puerto Rico's northeastern coast. | Mark Brown/Sun-Times