According to a poll conducted on consumers.

If another catastrophic hurricane were to impact Puerto Rico, the massive migration registered after María could potentially grow even more.

An index of the mood the population towards fighting another cyclone in the island showed up yesterday in a consumer radiography compiled by the Cámara de Mercadeo, Industria y Distribución de Alimentos (MIDA), an annual study which seeks to learn the preferences in consumer trends in the population. In this occasion however they also asked participants about the following statement:

‘It is completely or very probable that I move out of Puerto Rico if the impact of another hurricane is imminent’.

Of the 1,351 adult men and woman interviewed for this poll done by IPSOS, 17% agreed with the previous statement, which, extrapolated to the current population of 3 million on the island implies that around 500,000 persons would have as a priority to leave Puerto Rico if it were to be hit by another hurricane.

That amount contrasts with the estimated 184,000 that according to the Statistics Institute of Puerto Rico left the island between September and November 2017 in the aftermath of hurricane María.

‘This information is truly alarming as it would mean a significant decrease in the population that could aggravate even more the migrational situation in Puerto Rico’, the vice-president of MIDA, Manuel Reyes Alfonso, indicated.

The amount of persons with an electric generator between 2017 and 2018 also increased, according to another category compiled in the study, Around 21% of the population owned a generator in 2017, but now in 2018, the number has increased to 41%.

Likewise, in 2017, 42% of consumers waited for the first hurricane warning to prepare, but in 2018, around 71% of consumers have said they have prepared before the beginning of the new hurricane season.

For a preview of the study conducted by MIDA, which will be revealed in its entirety in the organizations convention the 28th of june, click here.