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.
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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