Hurricane Maria knocked out cell phone towers on Puerto Rico—and though 95 percent are still down—some calls have begun to come through from the island to the mainland United States.
Eddie Diaz received one of those calls from a landline Friday.
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He said it was his mother and sister telling him they survived the storm. It was the first time he’d heard from them since the storm made landfall.
"I can't wait for the airport to open up so I can go down there, but I'm also terrified to see my island destroyed,” he said.
Diaz is in the middle of planning the Headdress Ball, but thoughts of his homeland are heavy on his mind.
"It's hard, it's hard to be safe in a place like this. In a nice ballroom, in an air condition, trying to put magic in a great event for the Headdress Ball and you know you're family is hurting,” he said.
Diaz could get in touch with his relatives because they were able to find a neighbor on the island who has a working landline.
“They're going to be there until the water goes down. They're keeping me up to date. They have provisions; they don't have enough, but they say they're stretching the bread and the crackers and all of those things and it's hard,” he said.
Shared Google Doc of information out of Puerto Rico | Resumen de Pueblos
Though Diaz was able to reach some of his family, he still hasn’t heard from his grandmother, who is in her 80s, or his aunt, who is in her 60s.
He has a picture showing his aunt’s house surrounded by water.
Photos: Puerto Ricans rescued from flooding after Hurricane Maria
"I only hope that they got to them and they were able to rescue them and able to evacuate them enough time,” he said.
A Call from Mom
Since Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, not a moment had gone by that sisters Jeanie Lopez and Madeline Sanchez have not worried about how their mother fared during the storm.
Their normal routine in Waterford Lakes became punctuated with a robotic voice saying, “Your call cannot be completed at this time…” as they make repeated calls to the island, trying to reach her.
But then on Friday, Sanchez received a phone call.
"I just kept saying, 'Hello hello hello.' The connection wasn't clear," said Sanchez.
It was her sister-in-law. She said she was OK.
"She said I'm here on the side of the road I'm looking for food and gas," said Sanchez.
But her sister-in-law had yet to hear from Sanchez's mother. Her sister-in-law promised to seek them out and update her on how they fared through the storm.
Cox Media Group
