A few pieces of information coming from the lost island of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria departs..
The news is heartbreaking:
Local media is reporting that the Fajardo, Espíritu Santo and Rio Grande de Loiza rivers have all broken their banks, increasing the risk of flooding to some of the more highly populated areas of Puerto Rico.
The US National Hurricane Center warned of “large and destructive waves” as Maria came ashore near Yabucoa on the southeast coast.
Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rossello has told residents to brace for “the worst storm of the last century”, opening 500 shelters that can accommodate 67,000 people.
“The wind sounds like a woman screaming at the top of her lungs!” photographer and storm chaser Mike Theiss posted on Twitter as the hurricane hit.
“We are getting absolutely hammered right now.”
Puerto Ricans had scrambled to board up windows and buy last minute supplies as the storm approached the densely populated island of 3.5 million.
The entire island–the entire island–is without power.
And it could be out for 6 months.
What do you do with an island without power for so long, with so many people. How to keep an entire population from degrading into worst case scenarios..? How do you prevent chaos? …prevent disease? Hunger? Strife..
Most seasons there are just one or two large storms to deal with. This year, there are donations being sought for a multitude of storms and earthquakes–in a season when storms aren’t calmed yet.
Join in prayer. Bend on a knee. The least that can be done right now.
THE FUTURE OF MARIA AT THIS CURRENT TIME:
