San Juan attorney Andrés López says it’s one thing to be hunkered down in the house during a raging hurricane, but the real shock was Thursday after opening his front door.
“You just go, ‘oh wow,'” said López, about what he saw on the short drive to check on his parents’ house. “Nothing can prepare you for this. The devastation is such, it’s hurtful to the eye.”
Millions of Puerto Ricans ventured out Thursday to a landscape that was painful in its massive scale. They also faced the realization that life would be different for a long time.
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A resident of the Miramar section of San Juan, López says he had not really dealt with extensive power outages and does not have a generator at home. Like countless other Puerto Ricans, he faces an unknown amount of time without power.
“It’s candles, flashlights and good old-fashioned sweat,” he said. At night, he said, it’s like “boca de lobo — a wolf’s mouth, a popular expression in Puerto Rico that means pitch black. He was happy for the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew that’s been imposed for a few days.
López at least has a working phone. What’s very hard is for the many families who have not been able to reach loved ones around the island or in the U.S.
López says there’s a desespero — desperation — that makes a very hard situation even tougher.
That’s one of the things people miss the most,” he said.
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At least, López says, he is lucky that his family is safe.
Gustavo Castillo, who lives in the Condado section of San Juan, has limited cell reception but no water or electricity. He thinks the prediction of months without power is very plausible.
“That is definitely a reality based on the devastation I see around the city,” said Castillo. “But I don’t think the government really knows how long it’s going to take because they have not been able to assess the damage yet.”
Cristina Collazo is the founder and vice president of Valija Gitana, a fashion retailer with several stores around the island and in Florida. She was still trying to figure out the extent of the situation in Puerto Rico.
“There is only one radio station up right now and thankfully my phone is working halfway so communication and information are limited,” said Collazo. “I am asking my family members who live in Florida to give us any information they see in the news channels.”
But she was worried about even more immediate concerns, like ensuring her neighborhood was safe from looting, and trying to clear debris on her street.
“We are in our communities finding a way to help anyone who needs help and starting to clean up the streets and walkways,” she said.
Aside from issues of safety and housing, Puerto Ricans are grappling with how to keep their businesses — and livelihoods — going, amid the devastation.
“There is little communication about which roads are clear to pass,” said Collazo, who nevertheless was venturing out. “We are not sure if there has been damages to our warehouse and offices.” Collazo was worried about her stores and when she would be able to fulfill her online orders.
López, an attorney and Democratic fundraiser, said there was water in his office when we went to check, but nothing too catastrophic. He was looking forward to going to the office in a few days, “to get a sense of normalcy.”
In other parts of the island, the situation was extensive flooding and destruction. This was the case with Tricia Laureano, a resident of Barrio Vietnam, in the town of Guaynabo. Many houses were torn to pieces.
Amid the debris, Laureano told the local newspaper El Nuevo Día it was a thing of nature, but God was good and “preserved their lives, that’s the most important thing.”
With reports of fatalities and completely flooded and devastated towns, islanders are hoping that the recovery efforts are fast. López noted that many workers who had come to aid the Virgin Islands were using Puerto Rico as a base of operations.
“What we’re hoping is that between them and the federal authorities, they turn their efforts to immediate recovery,” said López. If basic services are not restored soon, “there’s a potential it can turn into chaos.”