Most Puerto Ricans Left Without Clean Water After Hurricane Fiona
Following a devastating storm, many in Puerto Rico were left with excessive damage and without critical services.
“The vast majority of Puerto Rican homes have been plunged into darkness after Hurricane Fiona wiped out the power grid, but people on the island are facing another devastating emergency: How to access clean water?” NPR reported. “With no electricity, there’s no power to run filtration systems and no power to pump water into homes. That means no clean water for drinking, bathing or flushing toilets.”
Heavy rainfall and flooding brought by Hurricane Fiona earlier this month left more than 800,000 customers of Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority without reliable drinking water service, two-thirds of the island’s homes and businesses, according to USA Today.
And loss of power was not the only obstacle that the water authority was working to overcome in the wake of the storm.
“[Water agency] President Doriel I. Pagán Crespo explained that in addition to the power outages, water supplies have been severely impacted by the flooding and surges of Puerto Rico’s rivers,” per NPR. “‘We have 112 filtration plants, and most of them are supplied from rivers. …As long as the rivers continue to decrease in level and it is safe for our personnel to carry out cleaning tasks, that is how we will be doing it,’ she added.”
Puerto Rico has experienced disruptions to power and water services as a result of severe storms before, perhaps most notably following the impact of Hurricane Maria five years ago. Following that devastation, FEMA has explained that it was better prepared to provide critical services like drinking water to Puerto Ricans after Fiona hit.
“FEMA’s response to Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico was widely criticized, leading the agency to acknowledge mistakes in organization, preparedness and staffing in an internal report the next year,” per USA Today. “The agency said it has increased the number of its warehouses in Puerto Rico from one to four and boosted supplies of meals and water tenfold.”
As officials work to restore power and drinking water service, and residents find relief wherever they can, this latest storm may offer lessons in future resilience, or at least provide another reminder of just how precious clean water really is.
To read more about how water systems prepare for major storms, visit Water Online’s Resiliency Solutions Center.