Puerto Rico: Needs go unmet more than 6 months after Hurricane Maria

SAN JUAN — Channel 9 anchor Nancy Alvarez traveled to Puerto Rico more than six months after Hurricane Maria ravaged the Caribbean island to measure the progress that has been made.

Although the capital city of San Juan is bustling with tourists, many who live in the southeastern portion of the island continue to struggle.

Residents Irma and Jose refuse to leave their home of more than 40 plus years despite the damage it sustained from 150 mph winds.

About 60 percent of the 37,000 people who live in the mountainous region of Yabucoa, where the storm made landfall, remain without electricity.

Hotel El Cafetal, a popular resort in Yauco, continues to rely on a generator for power.

"It has been terrible," said Maria Rosa, a worker at the hotel.

Rosa's relatives who live in Kissimmee and New York City have urged her to leave the island, but she has chosen to stay.

"Puerto Rico needs the people to stay here, because believe me, we need help," she said.

Elsewhere on the island, progress has been made.

Each of the island's 68 hospitals have reopened, cell service has improved and electricity has been restored to more than 90 percent of the island -- although power remains inconsistent for some.

But Rosa said families who haven't had their power restored feel forgotten.

"There are a lot of people who don't have light or food," she said. "So I think that they forget about Puerto Rico, and it's sad. Its sad."

Cox Media Group