How to help victims of Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico

A hurricane that battered Puerto Rico on Sunday has claimed at least one life and left millions of the island’s residents without electricity and running water.

Hurricane Fiona, the sixth named storm this season, is only the third to transform from a tropical storm to a hurricane since the Atlantic hurricane season began in June.

The Category 1 hurricane brought sustained winds in excess of 85 miles per hour and torrential rain, with some regions picking up as much as 25 inches and triggering flooding and mudslides. It also caused an island-wide blackout.

More than 1.3 million customers were still without power as of Monday afternoon.

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said power was restored to more than 100,000 users Monday afternoon and estimated the outage would last no more than a few days.

Fiona made landfall in US territory two days before the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Maria.

According to Puerto Rican officials, the island’s power grid and infrastructure is still recovering from the devastation caused by Maria, which shut down power in some locations for nearly a year and caused the largest power outage in U.S. history.

President Joe Biden on Sunday approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide disaster relief to those affected by the recent hurricane.

Here are some ways to help.

Must be there now

Local nonprofit and grassroots organizations are mobilizing as quickly as possible, calling for additional assistance to meet the urgent needs of Puerto Ricans.

“It’s very different from Maria’s. A big problem here is the rain,” said David Guadalupe, president of the Puerto Rico National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). “We need everyone’s support to remember the past five years.”

Puerto Rico VOAD established 25 long-term rescue groups scattered across the island to streamline regional relief efforts in response to Maria’s destruction. Guadalupe encourages those who would like to contribute to visit their website or donate directly to their members, who are part of a network of more than 2,600 organizations helping Fiona victims.

The Hispanic Federation, a Washington-based nonprofit, is asking for financial support after already sending volunteers to coordinate its network of 100 community partners.

The International Medical Corps has teams in Puerto Rico responding to Hurricane Fiona. They work with local authorities and accept donations to provide critical care to victims.

Direct Relief is the largest non-governmental organization that donates medical supplies to health care providers in Puerto Rico and has prioritized supporting community health centers impacted by Maria and now Fiona.

“The government and utility company have been working hard to restore power to critical areas like the medical center where we call Centro Medico in Puerto Rico,” said Dr. Michelle Carlo, medical advisor for Direct Relief of Puerto Rico, told PBS NewsHour. “It’s the only tertiary hospital on the island.”

Diaspora for Puerto Rico, a New York City-based nonprofit, has launched a website seeking donations to fund local volunteers and community-led organizations on the ground amid the growing disaster relief effort, as an estimated 5.8 million Puerto Ricans live off the island.

Myriam Lorenzo, President of Stronger than Maria, a nonprofit founded in the wake of the 2017 hurricane, is focused on bridging the gap between Puerto Rico and the United States mainland.

She remembers volunteers pouring in from the States to support her efforts after Maria came through. Lorenzo’s team has rebuilt 629 homes in nearly five years, but building materials are expensive to purchase on the island. Her organization is appealing for donations through PayPal to help Puerto Ricans weather the effects of another hurricane.

Needs range from food and drinking water to tarpaulins to cover collapsed roofs and new mattresses as children sleep in the cold mud.

No donations were flowing to Puerto Rico at the time, Lorenzo said, explaining that they were largely self-funding their operations. It led to the creation of Somos Puerto Rico, a group of local artisans who sell handmade artwork, clothing, crafts and furniture and donate a quarter of their profits to charities including Stronger than Maria.

“We also want to boost Puerto Rico’s economy,” said Lorenzo, “showing people outside of the island that we have a very talented group of artisans doing beautiful work.

She said this service would raise funds that can be used to pay local artisans, while also providing resources to support ongoing disaster-related relief efforts, including Fiona.

“We started from scratch,” said Lorenzo. “I think that’s how we’ll do it again.”

How to avoid charity fraud

• Determine if the organization, nonprofit, or group has a proven track record of providing assistance to those in need.
• Identify local initiatives and efforts based in the areas hardest hit by the natural disaster.
• Beware of phone calls and emails asking for donations.
• Avoid unknown agencies and websites. There is a history of scammers who created websites that look like fundraising sites after a major tragedy, but were actually scams.