PORT EVERGLADES, Fla. (WSVN) – Some Hurricane Maria victims who were able to escape are now getting support from loved ones in South Florida. Evacuees are extremely grateful to be here, but they still have their homeland on their minds.
A ship set sail for relief, and Wanda Collazo was waiting at the dock, Tuesday, at Port Everglades. Her mother escaped the devastation of Hurricane Maria.
“I just ran over there, and I hugged her, and it was really nice,” said Wanda.
A photo was taken just moments after their reunion.
“I was like, ‘Oh, finally.'”
Finally she could relax, knowing her mother was OK in the aftermath of the hurricane.
Seventy-seven-year-old Marta Collazo was alone in her San Juan highrise apartment when the hurricane ripped through.
“Like an atomic bomb,” said Marta in Spanish. “The building moved … Swish, swish swish.”
Rain seeped through her windows, soaking her furniture. Then, there was no running water and no electricity, and that meant no elevator to get to and from her 18th floor apartment.
“Two floors and she would take a break, two floors and she would take a break.”
“There was no way I was just gonna leave her like that.”
So now she is here, safe with her daughter in South Florida, until Puerto Rico begins to heal.
“I have to go back … I go back.”
Until that time comes, Marta will enjoy precious time with her only daughter.
She will call Miami Beach home for now, but like many who evacuated, her heart is still in Puerto Rico, and she looks forward to the day she can return.
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