test

MARICAO, PUERTO RICO – Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, destroying the island’s infrastructure and stripping the landscape bare.

CAGUAS, PUERTO RICO – In the weeks following the storm, volunteers from the mainland organized their relief efforts to bring supplies to the island. Above, former Hartford city councilman Luis Cotto gives out supplies to residents who hadn’t yet seen any relief workers -- nearly four weeks after the hurricane hit.

SALINAS, PUERTO RICO – Water was also in short supply in many remote towns across the island. Danny Torres, (pictured above) of Meriden, Connecticut, joined a cohort of volunteers and veterans from Connecticut traveling the island with their own water purifying system to give residents clean water.

HUMACAO, PUERTO RICO – The hurricane first touched down on the eastern side of the island. Standing on top of one of the town’s highest peaks, Rosalina Abreú said this area was a shaded paradise before Maria. After the hurricane, she served hundreds of meals there for people in need.

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – Thousands of Puerto Ricans fled the island to live with family in Connecticut. Guillermo Class (right) sold his car to fly his two sons back to the mainland. Above, he walks with his son Joemar (right) on his first day of school at Bulkeley High School.

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – As winter in New England winter started to set in, many families displaced by Maria were in need of warmer clothing and other supplies. The bigger concern was finding a permanent place to live.

VALLE HILL, PUERTO RICO – On the island, the hurricane had exacerbated problems that predated the storm. Residents in Alberto Diaz’s neighborhood continually suffered flooding because their neighborhood was built in a federal wetland. But many residents there couldn’t get FEMA help after Maria because they didn’t have title for their properties.

CAYEY, PUERTO RICO – But an island can’t live Hurricane Maria 24 hours a day. In the town of Cayey, a non-profit opens its doors every weekend for people to sing, dance, and take a break from the ongoing recovery. When there was no electricity,, they used candles and lanterns to light the room.