At 4:24 a.m. local time on January 7, Puerto Rico was hit by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake along its southern coast—the strongest in a string of escalating seismic activity that started on December 28. The quake triggered safety mechanisms at power plants in the area, where the majority of the island’s power generation capacity is …
“In 100 years here in Puerto Rico, we have never seen a hurricane like Maria.” – Cesar, Puerto Rico On September 5, 2017, the first of two fierce storms blasted across the Atlantic basin. Hurricane Irma, the strongest storm on record in the Atlantic, maintained maximum intensity as a Category 5 hurricane for 37 hours—knocking …
The issues addressed urgently following these emergencies are often the most visible: lack of food and water, obvious hazardous conditions, and the immediate needs of survivors. However, a quieter and consequential issue that can be unintentionally overlooked is mental health.
“I’m so happy.” Seda Sertdemir says this several times in our conversation, emphatically. The joy brimming in her voice and the lightness of her laughter make it hard to imagine the devastating things she has witnessed as a nutrition manager for International Medical Corps, having worked with Syrian refugees in Turkey and Puerto Ricans affected …
“That was the darkest day ever in my life,” says Cesar Montijo, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Corporación SANOS in Puerto Rico. He is referring to what he calls “Day 12”: the twelfth day after category 5 storm Hurricane Maria slammed into the tiny island last fall and took away life as he knew it. …
This International Nurses Day, we are sharing the story of Nancy Rudner, an Orlando-based American nurse with over 20 years nursing experience, who deployed to Puerto Rico after two powerful hurricanes devastated the tiny island nation last fall. Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico within a two-week span in September 2017. Both storms …
Former President Clinton formally launched the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery at the University of Miami on Tuesday, bringing together more than 350 leaders from government, business, and civil society to discuss and develop solutions that address immediate and long-term hurricane recovery needs facing the region.
Caribbean islands struck by last year’s hurricanes Irma and Maria are getting some much needed help with their recovery — from rebuilt schools and improved healthcare to mental health access and solar lights.