Barranquitas residents plead for provisions

It has been over 17 days since Hurricane Maria left, and the residents in many Puerto Rican municipalities are still lacking drinking water and food, especially in the areas that are the furthest from the Metro area, such as Barranquitas.

‘We have no water, no electricity. We need drinking water and food. […] Especially drinking water for the places where there are children. Diapers, medications. There are people who are sick, bedridden, with ulcers, who really need help,’ said Awilda Berríos Díaz, a resident from Barrio Barrancas.

According to the government’s numbers, about 56% of residents have drinking water.

This sector is inhabited by nearly 50 people, almost all of which are children or elderly persons. Some of them are suffering from health conditions, such as diabetes. Others are bedridden or have no family members to look after them.

Even though they don’t drink it, the residents in the area use the rainwater that accumulates in their pools to clean their bathrooms and do the dishes.

‘Do you know what has been our saving grace at home? A pool. When the upstairs neighbor turns on her power generator, she cleans our pool, and when it rains, we get a little more water. We use it for the bathrooms and the dishes. Not even to cook, because it has too much chlorine. I’ve sent out my daughter to get drinking water, and she’s had to pay up to two dollars for just one gallon,’ assured Carmen Ortiz Díaz.

The resident also mentioned that the lines to buy food or gas are huge, even though those in the Metropolitan area have become more bearable.

The residents also denounced that Barranquitas Mayor Francisco López López has not visited them.

Aside from the lack of food and water, the residents have also suffered significant damages to their homes, which only grow worse every time it rains in the area, due to potential floods and landslides.

‘I get scared when it rains. Yesterday we got a downpour, and yeah, I got scared. We lost half of the eaves and a lot of water comes down through it. It keeps flowing down, and everything keeps sinking,’ explained Carmen Burgos.

Out back behind the house, Maria’s winds destroyed the shed where she used to store her tools. The heavy rainfall also eroded part of the house’s foundation. Every time she exits her kitchen, she comes face to face with a cliff. Besides, an electric pole fell on her roof, right next to the electricity meter.

When asked why she’s not trying to move out, Burgos answered, ‘Where am I gonna go?’

Communications to the Barrancas sector remain cut off, which is why the residents have to walk up a hill hoping to get some cell phone signal. And just like the remaining 90% of the island, they still have no electricity.