Hurricane Maria's Impact on Puerto Rico: Cultural Competency
This paper examines the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico's population in September 2017, focusing on the most vulnerable groups—the elderly and the impoverished. It evaluates the emergency aid and disaster response delivered by federal agencies, health care organizations, and other entities, assessing both the strengths and deficiencies in cultural competency. The paper identifies critical failures in communication, planning, and coordination between local and federal leaders, as well as the impact of legislation such as the Jones Act on relief efforts. It concludes with program-manager recommendations for building a decentralized, community-based support network capable of protecting vulnerable populations in future disasters.
- Introduction: Context and scope of Hurricane Maria's devastation
- Impact on Populations: Effects on elderly, poor, and infrastructure
- Aid and Response in Support of Community: Federal agencies, Jones Act, and corruption issues
- Cultural Competency in Response: Strengths and deficiencies in culturally sensitive relief
- Recommendations to Enhance Cultural Competency: Decentralized, community-led response strategies
- Conclusion: Summary of vulnerabilities and call for reform
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds its analysis in concrete, real-world events and cites credible sources ranging from academic journals to investigative journalism, giving its claims both authority and specificity.
- It maintains a clear evaluative frame throughout—assessing strengths and deficiencies separately—which keeps the argument organized and easy to follow.
- The recommendations section moves beyond critique to offer actionable, policy-oriented solutions grounded in the paper's own evidence, demonstrating applied critical thinking.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of a problem-solution structure: it establishes the scope of the disaster and the needs of vulnerable populations, evaluates the adequacy of the response against those needs, and then proposes a coherent set of recommendations. This technique is particularly effective in public health and emergency management writing, where the goal is not only to analyze but also to inform future practice.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with context-setting and a brief thesis statement, then moves through four substantive sections: population impact, aid and response, cultural competency (split into strengths and deficiencies), and recommendations. The conclusion synthesizes the core argument. Each section builds logically on the previous one, creating a cumulative case for decentralized, community-led emergency response.
Introduction
Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico in September 2017, just two weeks after Hurricane Irma had passed through. The Category 5 Maria was devastating enough on its own—but the fact that it came on the heels of Irma, also a Category 5 storm, made it all the more destructive. Puerto Rico had not even had time to recover from Irma, which had left the island reeling, when Maria struck and pushed the territory into dire straits. This paper discusses the impact of Maria on the Puerto Rican population, the aid and response delivered in support of the community, the strengths and deficiencies in the cultural competency of that response, and recommendations a program manager could make to enhance cultural competency in future disaster situations.
Impact on Populations
Puerto Rico's population was already in poor condition prior to Maria making landfall. Irma had left some 100,000 people without power, and the territory was deeply in debt with few prospects of recovery, as newly adopted tax policies had caused many large corporations to leave (Baker & Dickerson, 2017; Sullivan & Feiser, 2017). When Maria struck, it destroyed what remained of the island's infrastructure.
Maria completely obliterated Puerto Rico's power grid, leaving the entire population without electricity—except for hospitals with backup generators. Communications collapsed, save for a handful of radio towers that were nearly impossible to reach due to flooding. Local leaders warned residents that they could be without electricity for up to six months. Energy, however, was among the least of the problems. Residents were left without shelter, food, medicine, and clean water. In the aftermath of the hurricane, Puerto Ricans suffered significantly without any assurance that their most basic survival needs would be met (De Arzola, 2018). Disease spread rapidly through the population, with people contracting pneumonia and other illnesses.
The elderly were the most affected group. They were struck by a wave of hopelessness, and many took their own lives after hearing rumors that no water or aid would be arriving (Varney & Kane, 2018). Cut off from reliable information and from one another, the elderly were especially vulnerable to fear and despair. Puerto Rico had already been pushed into widespread poverty before the storm, leaving this population with nothing to fall back on.
The health care sector had planned in advance for such contingencies. Health care workers were trained and ready, and the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement (PHEP) Program maintained close communication with the U.S. CDC. FEMA also had a presence on the island. Of all the groups in Puerto Rico, health care workers were the best prepared. It was the poor and the aged who suffered most because they had no organizations or resources looking out for them.
Aid and Response in Support of Community
The Southwestern Regional Academic Medical Center, established in 2006 specifically to respond to hurricanes and other disasters, sprang into action to provide health support for those in need. Generators kept its facilities operational so patients could be treated with modern medical resources. The U.S. sent the National Guard, and FEMA joined the effort as well. The CDC collaborated with PHEP to deliver medicines and vaccines to populations vulnerable to disease. Because of flooding, food shortages, and sanitation problems, widespread outbreaks were a serious concern, and vaccines were distributed accordingly.
One of the most pressing needs, however, was clearing roads and restoring infrastructure. The Army Corps of Engineers was brought in for that purpose. Crops had been destroyed, homes had been leveled, shelters had to be erected, and flooding had to be addressed. Restoring the electrical grid was a priority, but progress was slow. Emergency shelters that were meant to be temporary became permanent fixtures for many. Half the population remained without fresh water for months (De Arzola, 2018).
Beyond infrastructure and medicine, the other critical component of recovery was getting food, water, and other supplies to the population quickly. Unfortunately, an outdated piece of legislation known as the Jones Act prevented ships from leaving American ports bound for Puerto Rico unless those ships were American-flagged. This meant that many cargo vessels capable of rapidly delivering supplies were legally barred from doing so. Puerto Rico had to make a special request for the U.S. to temporarily waive the Jones Act—a delay that put many lives at risk (McMahon, 2018).
Corruption also plagued the recovery effort. U.S. officials accused Puerto Rican officials of wasting money and losing resources, while Puerto Rico's leaders had failed to establish a protocol for handling such emergencies. In turn, Puerto Rico accused the U.S. of corruption, particularly after a large government contract was awarded to a small company with no experience in disaster recovery that happened to be from the home state of the Secretary of the Interior—raising serious questions about conflicts of interest (Klippenstein, 2017).
Overall, the response was mixed. In some areas—such as vaccine distribution and health care delivery—Puerto Rico was reasonably prepared, thanks to organizations that had planned years in advance. In other areas, preparedness was severely lacking. The economy had already been weakened by changes in tax law, people were destitute, and the elderly were exceedingly vulnerable. Suicide cases rose sharply in the aftermath. Puerto Rico's leaders were ill-equipped to calm the fears of the population; public officials issued reassurances about power restoration in specific areas only to be publicly contradicted by residents in those very areas who were still without power. These failures eroded public trust and destroyed morale.
Conclusion
The ability to provide meaningful help in a time of crisis depends on knowing who is most vulnerable. In Puerto Rico, the most vulnerable populations were the impoverished and the elderly. They had little to no support system in place and no reliable means of accessing aid. Suicide rates climbed sharply as a result. Agencies did provide medicine, vaccines, shelter, food, and water wherever they could—but this was a limited and uneven response. Far more needed to be done at the local level, with community leaders guiding the effort. Rather than depending on government officials with poor track records, Puerto Rico needs a decentralized network of support built in advance and ready to activate the moment disaster strikes.
References
Baker, P., & Dickerson, C. (2017). Trump warns storm-ravaged Puerto Rico that aid won't last 'forever.' The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/12/us/politics/trump-warns-puerto-rico-weeks-after-storms-federal-help-cannot-stay-forever.html
De Arzola, O. R. (2018). Emergency preparedness and Hurricane Maria: The experience of a regional academic medical center in southwest Puerto Rico. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 10(4), 477–480.
Klippenstein, K. (2017). $300M Puerto Rico recovery contract awarded to tiny utility company linked to major Trump donor. The Daily Beast. Retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/dollar300m-puerto-rico-recovery-contract-awarded-to-tiny-utility-company-linked-to-major-trump-donor
McMahon, C. (2018). Double down on the Jones Act? Journal of Maritime Law & Commerce, 49(2), 153–195.
Sullivan, B., & Feiser, E. (2017). Maria latest threat to Puerto Rico after $1 billion Irma hit. Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-19/hurricane-maria-heads-for-puerto-rico-after-dominica-strike
Varney, S., & Kane, J. (2018). Amid new hurricane season, Maria still taking a toll on Puerto Rico's elderly. PBS NewsHour. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/amid-new-hurricane-season-maria-still-taking-a-toll-on-puerto-ricos-elderly
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