These are three stories that I have heard over the past week from people I’ve met around San Juan.

The woman in the hair salon

She is originally from the southeast side of the island, living in a house on the beach with her husband and their four children. Before Hurricane Irma hit, she and the kids went north to San Juan to avoid the first onslaught of wind and rain while her husband stayed back with the house to weather the storm. Irma came and passed and there was a lot of damage done, but it was still in a state that it could be lived in, needing only a few repairs. But Maria was around the corner, and just before the second storm hit she got a call from her husband telling her that she needed to say good bye to their home.

She stayed in San Jan with the kids and was eventually joined by her husband once he could safely make the trip into the city. They stayed there for months, waiting and waiting for the first available and affordable flight for their family to get off of the island. Leaving Puerto Rico was near impossible for months for several reasons. The first reason being that there were zero flights on or off of the island for two to three weeks after Maria hit. Even if there were planes coming in the riots at the airports would have been enough to drive anyone away. The second reason being that as soon as flights became available to leave SJU the option to buy a ticket was near impossible due to astronomically high airline prices. And somehow even with these insane prices, seats on the plane were selling out instantaneously.

After a few months in San Juan, all four kids came down with some sort of viral infection that was diagnosed by a doctor on the island but could not be treated based on limited medical supplies. This “fortunately” allowed them to qualify for medical evacuation status, and put them in a queue to be flown off island as soon as possible. One day they went to the airport with a few suitcases, waited in line, and were randomly selected for seats on the med-evac plane to Florida.

They touched down in Miami and were able to make it to a hospital that offered the kids treatment for their infections. That night, all five of them (mom and four kids) cozied up in their hotel room and mom said it was the first time in three months that she had seen her kids physically relax since the hurricane. It was like they could all breathe again.

They’re all back in San Juan now, waiting for all of the replacement windows, siding, doors, etc. for their house to arrive from the mainland… which should happen in about six months. While they wait for the new materials to arrive and for construction to finish up, they have decided to try out upstate New York for a year. They move in October and will experience their first true winter in one of the snowiest and coldest places in the northeast. A new adventure for this family.

The woman who lives on the 12th floor of her apartment building

She’s driving Uber now to supplement her income and is currently working towards repairing the damages in her apartment that her landlord has not taken care of since Maria.

She lives on her own and has lived on her own supporting herself for the past few years in the same apartment complex that she is still living in now. After Hurricane Maria came through, her windows were blown out and she lost power for several months.

Around the same time that the hit, she had undergone ankle surgery and was recovering at home. Since the power was out, all building functionality, including the elevator, had stopped and she was recovering while essentially camping in her own home. Living on the 12th floor without a functioning elevator and a broken ankle left her with no option but to slowly climb up and down the 12 flights of stairs to her apartment every morning and evening. She would leave her groceries in the trunk of her car because she wasn’t able to carry more than the few gallons of water necessary for bathing, drinking, filling the toilet, etc. at a time. Having her pantry in the trunk of her car was no different that storing something in her non-functioning refrigerator.

The apartment is still a mess, with windows boarded up and water damage throughout. She was denied an insurance claim last month since she is not the owner of the complex that she lives in. The landlord still has not used the funds they received from their claim to repair what is damaged in her apartment. Power returned about 6 months ago and now the elevator is working again.

The man who was afraid and is still afraid

He purchased a house near San Juan a few years ago to be close to his family and the city. When Maria rolled through he lost all power and home functionality for about 3 months, which took a toll on the home and his mental state.

He was afraid to touch any of the water that was accumulating around his house for fear of infection. Even after water was accessible from the faucets in his house, he was still afraid that the it was contaminated with disease and used as little of it as he possibly could. He only drank and bathed with bottled water.

He was finally able to afford and secure a ticket off of the island at the end on November 2017 and flew out hoping to never return. He stayed in the States for about 6 months, visiting with friends and travelling around, completely content with leaving everything behind in Puerto Rico. He only just returned to the island to check in with his family and to try to get his house back in order.

After hearing about the three incoming hurricanes this week, he immediately bought a ticket off of the island. He won’t chance it again.