page_title: Yabucoa, Puerto Rico
section_title: Hurricane Maria
hierarchical_section_title: Yabucoa, Puerto Rico / History / Hurricane Maria
caption_attribution_description: English: map of landslides in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria 2017
context_page_description: Yabucoa is a municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern region, north of Maunabo; south of San Lorenzo, Las Piedras and Humacao; and east of Patillas. Yabucoa is spread over 9 wards and Yabucoa Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
context_section_description: Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017 as a high-end, category 4 hurricane, knocking out power to the entire island (and also affected access to clean water). 
  The hurricane triggered numerous landslides in Yabucoa with its significant rainfall.
  Elderly were especially affected because many homes were completely destroyed.
  Many elderly living in Yabucoa died as a result of Hurricane Maria. People on oxygen machines died with the lack of electrical power. In June, 2018 the administrators of the municipality stated that they noticed an uptick in mortality rates (deaths) and were relaying the information since February, of 2018 but the government of Puerto Rico was not interested in hearing about it. Many more deaths were occurring than expected. An entire new section to the cemetery was built following the hurricane and the deaths that followed.
  As of June 12, 2018, eight months after the hurricane, more than 30% of Yabucoa homes were still without electrical power, stated the mayor of Yabucoa, Rafael Surillo. He stated there were 4,000 residences with between 12,000 and 15,000 residents without electrical power, of 36,000 residents. Large swaths of Yabucoa municipality including Guayabota, Tejas, Juan Martín, Calabazas, Limones and Aguacate barrios, and 100% of Jácanas were without electrical power for nine months, some since Hurricane Irma had hit a week prior to Hurricane Maria.
caption: Map of landslides in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017
exif: {"Image Artist": "medhat", "Image ExifOffset": "2130", "Image XPAuthor": "medhat", "Image Padding": "[]", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:03:04 11:31:11", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:03:04 11:31:11", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "07", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "07", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}