Hurricane Isaias started on July 28th, 2020, near the island of Dominica as a tropical storm. It has hit many countries such as the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and the USA. This has led to distress in many countries, especially in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has been impacted the most, with massive floods, many destroyed houses and 50% of cell towers out of service. Puerto Rico was incredibly unprepared due to the disasters caused by Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017. The hurricane left 3.4 million citizens into a desperate humanitarian catastrophe and caused $94.4 billion of damage. Two years after the event, they still needed support. Additionally, they’ve had 7113 COVID-19 cases and 230 deaths, leaving them utterly unprepared for this natural disaster. (The Facts: Hurricane Maria's effect on Puerto Rico)
In conclusion, this natural disaster has led to terrible events for less prepared or unfortunate countries. It has surprised people because it is the first time that two hurricanes (Isaias and Hanna) have occurred in July. COVID-19 has rendered everyone unprepared for this hurricane, making moving to safety complicated because of social distancing. Many states in the USA will probably be affected by Hurricane Isaias, so we have to hope for a less disastrous results than in Puerto Rico.
Nicole Fermor
Article Sources
“The Facts: Hurricane Maria's Effect on Puerto Rico.” Mercy Corps, 9 Apr. 2020, www.mercycorps.org/blog/quick-facts-hurricane-maria-puerto-rico
“Tracking Hurricane Isaias as It Marches toward US.” Good Morning America, YouTube, 1 Aug. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIb5LCl4cxs
Hanna, Jason, and Amir Vera. “Hurricane Isaias Heads toward Bahamas and Florida after Battering Dominican Republic as a Tropical Storm.” CNN, Cable News Network, 1 Aug. 2020, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/31/weather/hurricane-isaias-forecast/index.html (03.08.2020)
“Hurricane Isaias Brings Massive Flooding, Outages to Puerto Rico.” Eyewitness News ABC7NY, 31 July 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Phq6V8dYQ
Samenow, Jason, and Matthew Cappucci. “Isaias Becomes a Hurricane and Is Forecast to Track Ominously Close to East Coast from Florida to Maine.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 31 July 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/07/30/isaias-florida-east-coast/
“| Departamento De Salud De Puerto Rico.” Departamento De Salud, 3 Aug. 2020, www.salud.gov.pr/pages/coronavirus.aspx