Three months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, conditions on the island remain chaotic. The lives of many evacuees — including dozens in the Valley — also are in chaos, worsened by the lack of coordination between federal and state agencies and local communities that are sheltering hurricane victims.
On Sept. 20, Maria’s catastrophic 150-mph winds and 20 or more inches of rain leveled Puerto Rico, knocked out 80 percent of its power transmission lines and left 3.4 million people without electricity. There still is no electricity on some parts of the island, and the power grid has returned to only 70 percent of capacity, The New York Times reported Monday.
One of the evacuees who recently arrived in Northampton, Francys Perez, 25, told the Gazette that electricity is not expected to be restored in her home city of Camuy until February or March, and it is difficult to find food and clean water. She sought better conditions in the United States with her 2-year-old son.
They are among as many as 25 Puerto Rican families living temporarily at the Quality Inn & Suites on Conz Street in Northampton. Their arrival in early November was unexpected for everyone who has helped them — from the hotel’s management to city officials, church groups and other volunteers.
“It was completely out of the blue,” said Shaun Leahan, general manager at the Quality Inn. Many of the families arrived unprepared for colder weather and Leahan and his staff organized a winter clothing drive with the nearby WEBS yarn store on Service Center Road.
“Clearly, there was no notification to us,” Mayor David Narkewicz said. “The first notification we had … was when a family made inquiries about school and that is how we knew. Clearly there was not good communication, and we’re trying to play catch up a little bit, but obviously the first priority now is to figure out how we assist these families.”
A spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said there are no official evacuees from Puerto Rico in Massachusetts, which means those who arrived after the hurricane are self-evacuated and it is up to the state to coordinate their aid. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency contracts with Mass 2-1-1 to assess the needs of those families and, if they require services, refers them to a resource center in the region where they intend to live, including the Bridge Family Resource Center in Amherst.
The state Executive Office for Administration and Finance did not respond to questions about the reported lack of communication with local officials. (Editor’s note: This editorial was updated Dec. 20 to change the name of the state agency that was unresponsive.)
Northampton so far has absorbed 20 new students from Puerto Rico in its schools, and other local communities are doing the same. Holyoke, which has the highest per-capita population of Puerto Ricans on the U.S. mainland, has nearly 160 students displaced by the hurricane. Amherst reports 11 new students, and Greenfield nine. Many of them are staying with extended families already in the area.
Families at the Quality Inn are largely relying on the generosity of people in the community, made easier because Northampton already was preparing for the arrival of international refugees, whose numbers have been reduced under travel bans imposed by President Donald Trump. Local officials have redirected “circles of care” — groups of volunteers who made a five-year commitment to assist a refugee family — instead to sponsor families from Puerto Rico.
City property owner JordiHerold a year ago offered one of his apartments on Bedford Terrace rent-free to a refugee family. Rather than having it sit vacant, it will now be occupied by Puerto Rico evacuee Gesmarie Perez Santiago and her family. “Their support has been wonderful,” she said of Herold and others in the Northampton community.
However, she worries about other families at the Quality Inn who have yet to find housing. The FEMA vouchers they are using to pay for their rooms there expire on Jan. 13.
It is time for federal and state emergency management agencies to improve communication with communities that have taken in displaced hurricane victims and provide financial help for their housing, schooling and other services they need to get through a New England winter.
Meanwhile, we salute those local officials, charitable organizations and other volunteers who have stepped up to help their fellow American citizens.