By
Sadie Link
Puerto
Rico is an island located in the Caribbean off North America. Puerto Rico seems
unlucky when it comes to the climate crisis. The Puertorican people have faced
hurricanes, drought, sea-level rise, earthquakes, and, more recently, the
Coronavirus pandemic. Amidst all these tragic events, the United States
attempts to help, yet no progress is being made. With the ever-growing issue of
climate change and the coronavirus the result is the toll it is taking,
physically and mentally, on the people of the island.
2017’s
Hurricane Maria was most mortifying to the Puertorican people. An estimated
2,975 people died, and nearly three years later, Puerto Rico is still living with
the hurricane damage. The climate change crisis has become a serious issue due
to the impact climate change has on natural disasters. According to Brandon
Miller, a CNN meteorologist, “Current conservative projections for sea-level
rise by the end of this century (by 2100) are for an additional 12-24 inches,
according to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'' (CNN). The
rising sea level is a direct result of climate change. Puerto Rico is an
island, and the sea level is rising at a faster rate, as the water gets warmer.
Warmer sea water means Puerto Rico can expect hurricanes to be more intense,
flooding to be worse, and the speeds of the storms to be rapid.
Hurricane
Maria left Puerto Rico in a devastated state. Complete buildings were shredded,
people died, and homes were demolished. Donald Trump, President of the United
States, said Puerto Rico was obliterated, yet changes to how the United States
treats climate change is not being done. This means Puerto Rico is in danger of
suffering from even more deadlier hurricanes.
The
coronavirus is a deadly virus the United States and the rest of the world was
not prepared for. Coronavirus reached a global pandemic status this spring. People
in many places are forced to stay inside their houses and practice social
distancing. The United States has the highest cases in the world; in Puerto
Rico, there are at least 1,539 confirmed cases. New York Times’s Patricia
Mazzei reports, “Puerto Rico has done tests to diagnose the coronavirus at a
far lower rate than anywhere else in the United States, a situation that public
health experts fear could leave the island uniquely vulnerable once it attempts
to reopen.”
The
United States is already behind on testing, but Puerto Rico is not getting
their tests at a high enough rate. This is going to leave Puerto Rico in a
horrible situation once everything reopens. The mayor of San Juan remarked that
Puerto Rico’s capital has not received relief funds from the federal government
yet. Puerto Rico’s economy is already suffering from people unable to work, and
for a major city like San Juan to not receive relief funds is going to leave
Puerto Rico in a much worse state than the rest of The United States.
Puerto
Rico is planning to gradually reopen businesses shortly, but it is apparent the
island is going to suffer dramatically from the effects of COVID19. The only
reasonable solution the US government can do to help Puerto Rico is to send
them their relief funds along with an abundance of Coronavirus tests. These two
necessary things will ensure at least a little bit safer reopening for Puerto
Rico.
Facing
the coronavirus pandemic, Puerto was hit with yet another natural disaster, an
earthquake. On Sunday, May 2nd, in the city of Ponce, an earthquake hit 5.5 on
the Richter scale. The earthquake damaged buildings and homes, making it
unclear when people will be able to go inside again. The
governor, Wanda Vazquez, stated, “We emphasize the importance of remaining calm
and urge everyone to always use a face covering when outside the home” (CNN). Consider
the difficulty of having to social distance while also being forced outside due
to the earthquake. Although face coverings will help the situation a little
bit, they will not wholly help avoid the coronavirus.
Puerto
Rico is not unfamiliar with earthquakes. Earthquakes occur when there is a
sudden slip on the faults. Puerto Rico faces draughts quite often, which
directly affects earthquakes. The faults need a little stress that water
pressure puts on it. Without this pressure, there is a higher chance there will
be an earthquake. Since Puerto Rico often faces draughts, the possibilities
another earthquake will occur is very likely. Among all the effects the
coronavirus caused the fear of another earthquake occurring in Puerto Rico is
only making matters worse. President Donald Trump remarked Puerto Rico will
have all the resources it needs. Yet, it seems, based on the negligence Puerto
Rico has received, these resources might not come to Puerto Rico fast enough.
Puerto
Rico seems to be susceptible to nearly all natural disasters. Amidst the
coronavirus pandemic, the neglect Puerto Rico receives from the United States
Government is even more apparent. With the climate change crisis, the hope to
lessen natural disaster effects seems nearly impossible.
Works Cited
“Can
Climate Affect Earthquakes, Or Are the Connections Shaky? – Climate Change:
Vital
Signs
of the Planet.” NASA, NASA, 29 Oct.
2019,
climate.nasa.gov/news/2926/can-climate-affect-earthquakes-or-are-the-connections-shaky/.
Democracy
Now! “Mayor of San Juan Says Puerto Ricans Haven't Received Relief Funds.”
Democracy Now!, 29 Apr.
2020, www.democracynow.org/2020/4/29/headlines/mayor_of_san_juan_says_puerto_ricans_havent_received_relief_funds.
Mazzei,
Patricia. “Puerto Rico Lags Behind Everywhere Else in U.S. in Virus Testing.” The New
York Times, The New
York Times, 21 Apr. 2020,www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/us/puerto-rico-coronavirus.html.
Miller,
Brandon. “Climate Change Makes Storms like Dorian More Dangerous.” CNN, Cable
News
Network, 4 Sept. 2019,
www.cnn.com/2019/09/03/weather/climate-change-effects-on-hurricanes/index.html.
Moshtaghian,
Artemis, and Jay Croft. “Earthquake Rattles Puerto Rico, Damages Buildings.”
CNN, Cable
News Network, 2 May 2020,
www.cnn.com/2020/05/02/us/puerto-rico-earthquake/index.html.
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