Disaster Profile

In the Fall of 2017, Hurricane Irma landed in Puerto Rico with the strongest winds the island has ever seen. Not long after, Hurricane Maria’s 155 mph ferocious winds struck the island, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. “It is the worst natural disaster on record in Puerto Rico and [several] months later, the island still does not have power and potable water in many areas. As always, our team worked with local partners to carefully assess the damage and identify communities with the greatest need for help,” said Erik Dyson, C.E.O. of All Hands and Hearts.

Hurricane Maria first made landfall over the municipality of Yabucoa, affecting the 37,000 residents who call it home. This area bore the strongest brunt of the storm, where hundreds of homes are still in need of basic roof repairs today. The interior of the island; the mountain municipality of Barranquitas, was also devastated by the storm and became nearly inaccessible for weeks due to landslides. The roughly 30,000 residents in this area continue to see a great need for roofing repair and mold sanitation. Moreover, Toa Baja suffered not only flooding from the hurricane itself, but the subsequent release of dams, resulting in flood waters over 10 feet high.

Our Work

The volunteers here have been hard at work helping to rebuild these communities. To date, we have worked on mucking and gutting projects, debris removal, repairing of roofs in a safe and secure way, performing mold sanitation and critical repairs on windows and doors, as well as revitalizing a baseball field and a community centre in Yabucoa.

After publically committing to continue working in Puerto Rico until September 2019, our relief efforts in Yabucoa are still going strong. Thanks to our dedicated volunteers, who gave 66,712 combined volunteer hours to help rebuild Puerto Rico, we have wrapped up our efforts in Bananaquits and Toa Baja.

Our Impact

Our work is not done yet and we need your help to provide hope and a brighter future for the communities that are still reeling from these hurricanes.