CLEARWATER, Fla. – The storm had past through Puerto Rico a week earlier and the damage was still visible as Jesmuel Valentin drove through his hometown in the middle of October.
Trees covered the roads. Light poles were ripped from the ground. Homes were flooded and without electricity. Grocery stores were either closed or without food. There was not enough gas to run generators. Valentin’s town of Manati – on the island’s northern coast – was hit hard last October when Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico.
“That was hard to see,” Valentin said. “But thank god we have done a really good job and everything is coming back to normal, little by little.