HURRICANE MARIA - PUERTO RICO

Hurricane María made landfall on the island of Puerto Rico on September 20th, 2017 as a deadly high end Category 4 tropical cyclone with windspeeds of 155mph. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affect the northeastern Caribbean particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico islands and was the tenth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record. As María approached, the people of Puerto Rico were still coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, which had passed near San Juan on September 6. 

María damaged 95 percent of cell towers, cutting off nearly all cell phone communication and destroyed what was still functioning in Puerto Rico's electrical grid after Irma, leaving all residents across the island completely without power. Hurricane María's damage has been severe and lasting. The storm caused structural damage to an unknown number of buildings and destroyed nearly all road signs and traffic lights. It wiped out roads, leaving less than 8 percent of them open a month after the hurricane. Five months after the storm, a quarter of the island's residents still lacked electricity.

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Maximum Sustained Wind Speed: 175mph

Fatalities: 2,975+

Damage:  $94 billion

Saffir-Simpson Rating: 5

Central Pressure:  908 mb

Rainfall: 30 in 

Flood Surge: 4 ft 

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Response: Puerto Rico