Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 18, 2022, and has since caused billions of dollars in damages. Puerto Rico’s economy has been struggling for several years, and still in the process of recovering after the severe damages from Hurricane Maria nearly 5 years earlier.

Two weeks after Fiona, over a third of civilians living on the Western region of the island still remained without electricity, leaving thousands without power. Days after the storm, the majority of Puerto Ricans had no access to clean running water. The power company LUMA received countless complaints prior to Fiona on their ability to properly run the system and are currently being questioned on their failure to adequately prepare for the disastrous effects of the hurricane.

One student, Ben Shi-Wang (11) believes that the hurricane will affect Puerto Rico’s recovery rate, stating, “To fully recover, my guess is around 6 years, but who knows there might be another storm.”

He also believes that Puerto Rico could have better prepared for this disaster stating, “adding a bit more effort on the foundations and structures of the buildings may have lessened damages overall.”

Considering Puerto Rico is still recovering from the major damage caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017, the damage caused by Fiona will not only slow the recovery from the previous storm, but also impact Puerto Rico’s already struggling economy, with an expected multibillion dollar hit. The territory will continue to suffer the extreme loss and damages extended from both storms.