SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (WSVN) — Residents of Puerto Rico are dreading the arrival of Tropical Storm Dorian as most are still trying to recover from Hurricane Maria.
Near downtown San Juan, Rosemary Cansell has been living with a shredded tarp for a roof for the last two years, since Hurricane Maria.
Cansell’s roof collapsed with all the water from the hurricane. Everything collapsed, even the sink.
She has been living next door, in a loaned home, for months.
Cansell has not received help with any repairs. Her furniture is all gone and with Dorian approaching, she feels like she is reliving Hurricane Maria.
“I feel stressed, anxious, and I try to hide my feelings, but it’s very difficult,” said Cansell.
After Maria, Cansell knew she could not stay in her home because the building was too unstable, so she slept for several days on a wet couch in the backyard.
Nearly 30,000 homes are still covered by tarps. People are still waiting for the federal funding to fix their homes.
“The bureaucracy is preventing a lot of those folks and families from receiving the money,” said Jenniffer González Colón, U.S. representative for Puerto Rico.
Officials issued a state of emergency for the area on Monday.
The other major issue that worries residents is the fragile power grid. Residents said even in a rain storm, they expect the power to go out.
Federal Emergency Managers said they’ve learned lessons from Maria and hundreds of workers are already in place around the island.
“If they would give us an idea of what the situation is and tell us what requirements they have in those areas, we can respond to them from there,” said Nick Russo, a Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA.
In some parts of the island there are still lagoons that fill with water during heavy rains that trap residents in their homes.
“The ones that have blue tarps, the ones that live in the areas that are flooding, they have to move out,” said Mayor Mayita Meléndez of the city of Ponce.
As a result, the mayor of San Juan has prepared a shelter equipped with 300 beds for those that may need to evacuate. FEMA has also set up 300 similar shelters across the island.
Several Miami-Dade Fires Urban Search and Rescue teams are on the ground ready to help. The Coast Guard has also moved their boats to safety until the storm passes.
“We’re all united so that Puerto Rico has a rapid response, so please come and listen to the instructions and have your emergency plans ready,” said Governor Wanda Vásquez. “Puerto Rico has been through worse situations, and I’m confident that we are prepared, and we’re going to push through.”
Officials have assured the public that they are better prepared for the storm. They said they have a lot of supplies stocked up and ready for repairs to the power system in the event of a storm.
Cansell has chosen to sit tight in her loaned home, and she is still trying to get assistance from FEMA.
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