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Florida Matters Takes A Look At Hurricane Maria Survivors, One Year Later

This image from Carolina, Puerto Rico was taken the day after Hurricane Maria hit the island.
Puerto Rico National Guard
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

It’s been a year since Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico. Recovery continues on the devastated island, but transitions are also happening here in Florida, where many residents evacuated and some have chosen to stay.

We’re hearing from:

  • 35-year-old Leslie Diaz from Carolina, Puerto Rico. She came to Tampa last November without her husband, who stayed behind to secure their home on the island.  Her three young children and niece came with her.
  • Julio Ildefonso, who traveled to Tampa from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, shortly after the hurricane. He came here with his 66-year-old mother, Mariana Vazquez, who suffers from dementia.
  • Melissa Brass, Disaster Services coordinator for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg. The organization helped Diaz, Ildefonso and hundreds of other families find housing and work in Hillsborough County.

Also, we’re sharing the work of some student journalists at the University of Florida. Last month, a team of the university’s Noticias WUFT and WUFT - the NPR station in Gainesville - visited Puerto Rico to find out how life is for the island’s residents. It’s part of a project called Life After Maria.

  • Reporter Claudia Perez Britotells us that one of the immediate impacts of the storm was a dramatic increase in the number of stray animals on the island. It has become such a problem that organizations on the U.S. mainland have had to step in and help.
  • Reporter Alexis Howard explains that while Puerto Rico has always been a popular tourist destination, that aspect of the island’s economy is seeing a slow return to normal. She said the government and local business owners disagree on how far Puerto Rico’s tourism industry has come since Hurricane Maria.

Copyright 2018 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7

Mary Shedden is news director at WUSF.
Mary Shedden
Mary Shedden is news director at WUSF Public Media, where she oversees a team of reporters covering 13 counties on Florida’s west coast.
Robin is Senior Editor at WUSF, spearheading the station's podcasting initiatives and helping to guide the vision for special reporting projects and creative storytelling. She hosts the weekly current affairs program, Florida Matters, on WUSF and also created The Zest, the station's podcast that's all about food, which she continues to host and serve as senior producer.
Roberto Roldan is a senior at the University of South Florida pursuing a degree in mass communications and a minor in international studies.