Views and experiences of Puerto Ricans one year after Hurricane Maria
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- DiJulio, Bianca, author MunĚana, Cailey, author Brodie, Mollyann, author
- Contributor(s):
- Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, issuing body.
- Publication:
- San Francisco, CA : Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2019
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Disaster Victims -- psychology Cyclonic Storms Relief Work Adult Child Chronic Disease Disabled Persons Disaster Planning Health Status Stress, Psychological Humans Puerto Rico United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017 as a category 4 storm causing significant destruction across the U.S. territory leaving people with damaged homes, limited access to food and water, and in the dark due to massive power failures. Since the hurricane hit, news reports have described the far-reaching consequences of the storm, but data on how widespread some issues are has been lacking. In order to give voice to the people of Puerto Rico and to quantify the current status of the situation nearly one year after the storm's devastation, the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Washington Post conducted an in-person representative survey in July and August 2018 of current adult residents of Puerto Rico who endured the storm nearly a year earlier. The survey explores Puerto Ricans' experiences after the storm, their ongoing needs, and their views of rebuilding priorities going forward. When thinking about the damage Hurricane Maria has done in Puerto Rico, it is important to note that the territory was already facing a variety of challenges before the hurricane struck. For example, the population is largely low income, with a median annual income of about $20,000, compared to $57,000 in the rest of the U.S. Even before Maria, the territory has been in economic crisis and experiencing outward migration as people leave for more opportunity elsewhere. Because of these factors, the hurricane likely further exacerbated issues that were already present on the island and made rebuilding that much more difficult. This survey is part of the Kaiser Family Foundation's ongoing efforts to survey and hear directly from those affected by major hurricanes throughout the U.S. It builds on a series of surveys that were conducted between 2005 and 2015 after Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area and more recent work in the Texas Gulf Coast area after Hurricane Harvey. In Puerto Rico, the Kaiser Family Foundation also has done focus groups and in-depth interviews across the territory since the hurricane hit as well as covered the recovery progress with its news reporting through Kaiser Health News. And, while the Kaiser Family Foundation/Washington Post survey does not include residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands who were hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year due to the feasibility of interviewing in-person across multiple islands in multiple languages, the Kaiser Family Foundation has done in-depth interviews with residents and government officials to gather information about their ongoing experiences in the U.S.V.I.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (35 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101754994 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101754994