‘We are hoping for the best’: Puerto Rico residents prepare for Tropical Storm Ernesto

ORLANDO, Fla. — Residents of Puerto Rico are bracing for yet another storm.

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Tropical Storm Ernesto is expected to hit the island between Tuesday and Wednesday, and many are already on alert.

“There’s a lot of traffic, stores are full,” said Puerto Rico resident Lola Cordero in Spanish. “I can tell you that since Hurricane Maria, it became much harder to deal with the dangers of the storms that hit the island. Gas stations are packed, people trying to stock up on gas. But we are hoping for the best.”

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Ernesto could bring heavy rains, strong winds and rough sea conditions over the next few days, and that concerns residents, many of whom still remember what they lived through during the past big storms that ravaged the island, especially Maria and Irma.

“There’s a lot of people in danger; it all depends on where they live,” said Carlina Figueroa, who was in San Lorenzo when Maria hit. “It was nine months without light. Washing clothes by hand. We still have a lot of houses with blue tarps, and it’s been over five years already.”

Maria became one of the worst hurricanes in Puerto Rico’s history.

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In Central Florida, organizations like the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce are quick to respond when severe weather hits the island.

“We have a couple of our members who are here in Florida and also in Puerto Rico who deal with this type of disaster,” said Jorge Figueroa, President of the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce. “They have volunteers on hold, they have community centers on standby in case they need to cook hot meals, and they have over 70,000 pounds of food to be distributed if needed.”

According to UCF Sociology Professor and Director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub in Orlando Fernando Rivera, the weather conditions have tested the island over the years, and he hopes the territory is more prepared now.

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“Now there’s more awareness; there’s emergency management plans, the warehouses of FEMA are well stocked. There are lessons learned after Hurricane Maria,” said Rivera. “I am cautiously optimistic about it.”

FEMA is warning about the possibility of extended power outages over the next few days following the storm. The agency has also announced it has teams scattered throughout the island ready to act should the need arise.

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