By Adriana Díaz Tirado
OROCOVIS, Puerto Rico – Farmer Ángel Manuel López Colón reported that going to a supermarket in this municipality, before Hurricane Fiona, took him 15 minutes. Now, he has to drive an hour and a half to find supplies to survive in his community in the La Francia sector, whose main roads, PR-143 and PR-143, collapsed due to the atmospheric phenomenon.
Cancel medical appointments, do not go to the school or visit relatives with chronic conditions or disabilities and poor signal on their cell phones are some of the pressing problems of Orocoveños in this sector due to the collapse of state roads, in the Bauta Abajo neighborhood, right on the mountain peak of this municipality in the center of the island.
“I left yesterday ( Wednesday) to fetch water, and it took me an hour and a half. (…) We are having a terrible time without access”, said the man of 66 years, who also canceled a medical appointment . In addition, he has lost yam crops on his farm because he cannot sell them.
“Every day I have to walk there (PR road-590) because I have a farm in Villalba. The car doesn’t go through there. If I have to go to town, I have to do a megaturn. Very few people have shown up to help us,” said López Colón, who lives with his wife, Nimia Avilés, and their son.
To the concern of the Orocoveños due to the lack of electricity and water drinking water, this lack of access to the main roads is added, which transforms their daily lives. López Colón’s granddaughter has not been to school in two weeks.
43% of residents without electricity
The mayor of Orocovis, Jesús “Gardy” Colón Berlingeri, specified that there is 66% of its population without electricity service. “We have nine neighborhoods that are completely turned off,” he added.
“I have been here for many years because my last son has 20 years. These days have been fatal, buying many boxes of water. My son brings me tap water, but that cannot be (used) for cooking. The other day, I fell with a garbage bag that I went up to take it, and I fell on the road and thank God I didn’t get off the car, ”said Nélida López Colón, a resident of Orocovis, from 78 years.
The path of your relatives to share supplies with you is now much more difficult. “Right now, I am waiting for my son for food and purchases that they brought me. He was already without rice and beans, which is what is eaten the most now,” she said.
Right in the middle of the interview with this newspaper, her granddaughter, Shakira Miranda, came to visit her Before the passage of Hurricane María, in 2017, they were neighbors. However, she couldn’t fix her house after that atmospheric phenomenon and she had to move
“I had to move to Barranquitas. (…) This is the third time I’ve come to see her in the Damián Abajo neighborhood. The road is like an hour and a half. Before, it was only 20 minutes”, Miranda shared.
Colón Belingeri indicated that they estimate that, within a week, a temporary passage through the PR-143. “The rain has affected the works. (…) We are making an impact to try to make way,” said the municipal executive.
He stressed that, among the mayors of the mountainous area, they have collaborated to open the way as soon as possible and distribute supplies, such as bottled water. However, the desperation of people for not being able to go to work or having to spend more resources on gasoline is increasing.
“Today (Thursday), we spoke with Public Works, as they are highways them, to see how we can permanently impact them,” he explained.
A displaced family
In the same sector of La Francia, they locates the Los Burgos community, in which eight properties were impacted by Hurricane María, and, once again, affected by the rains from Fiona. Among the houses with cracks, is that of Virgenmina Colón Ortolaza, a woman of 70 who has had to move five times .
Colón Ortolaza and his children demand stability and, finally, get a place to build their homes. They denounced that a voucher from the R3 Program was shared with them to relocate, but that it has not helped them “at all” because they cannot find properties.
“We are tired of talking, we want to see actions”, said the older of 14 brothers, Carmen Burgos Colón.
For his part, the mayor shared that he notified the Secretary of Housing, William Rodríguez, that these families still do not find available residences, and requested that they be helped with programs to pay for the rent of their provisional residences at this time.
In the midst of the emergency, the community of the La Francia sector has come together to survive. Gerardo Vázquez Ortiz recounted how residents have assisted older adults, using motorboats to move neighbors along what remains of the road and have shared supplies with them in recent weeks.
“Since Fiona passed , a group of volunteers has been activated to fix all the pipes of the community aqueduct that supplies drinking water. However, the landslides that have affected the entire area caused ruptures in the pipes and have had to work with multiple repairs, such as, for example, the landslide in PR-590″, said the communicator and resident of the Bauta Abajo neighborhood.
He recognized the work of the volunteers, including his father from 72 years, that “he has gone with his shovel to shake their hands”. The Orocoveño shared that, since facing the emergency, the closest grocery store, El Cometa, has offered transportation to neighbors so they can do their errands.
“Fortunately, in this community, most we are family or we consider ourselves family because we have grown up together, and respect for all neighbors has been instilled,” said Vázquez Ortiz.
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