Hurricane Maria Shows the Devastating Aftermath of Category Four Storm

With a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Los Angeles, Elizabeth “Libby” Keatinge Scheideler encourages financial knowledge and helps women succeed in business through her platform FundsSavvy.com, which she launched in 2018. Active in several charitable activities, Elizabeth Keatinge participated in a trip to Puerto Rico to assist families affected by Hurricane Maria.

Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. Weather stations and phone towers were downed, and wooden and tin roofs were ripped off homes by sustained gusts of 155 mph. All of the island’s electricity was turned off, and most people had limited access to clean water and food after the incident. All 3.4 million inhabitants were thrown into a terrible humanitarian situation as a result of the tragedy.

Hurricane Maria is a category four hurricane. A category four storm has winds ranging from 130 to 156 miles per hour according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. They’re powerful enough to destroy well-built homes, uproot trees and electricity poles, knocking out power, and make the impacted regions uninhabitable for weeks or months.

While the storm’s official death toll was 64, Harvard research released on May 29, 2018, indicates that Hurricane Maria and its aftermath is accountable for over 4,600 deaths in Puerto Rico.

Between July 2017 and July 2018, about 130,000 Puerto Ricans who are United States citizens left their homes, many directly resulting from Hurricane Maria’s damage. The majority of Puerto Ricans, on the other hand, is determined to stay and help the island rebuild, no matter how long it takes. However, three years after the storm, they still require assistance with basic necessities as well as long-term rehabilitation endeavors.