LAKEWOOD - A new hurricane season begins in just three days. In Puerto Rico, it's impossible to move on from the last one.
The official death toll from Hurricane Maria back in September is 64 people, however, researchers at Harvard believe the real number is more like 4,600 when you count the people who died in the weeks after the storm.
The higher count is mostly due to widespread power outages and a lack of resources, both of which are problems that continue today.
The issues have been enough to drive people away from the island and find homes elsewhere. Cristina Kliesen, a Lakewood resident with family in Puerto Rico, said 15 of her family members have moved to other parts of the United States, including Illinois, Florida and California.
"A lot of them lost their jobs because their businesses closed," Kliesen said. "Two of my aunts are nurses and the hospitals they worked at closed."
Most of Kliesen's family members that left the island have young families to support, she said.
Another problem Puerto Rico residents continue to deal with is electricity. Kliesen said her family's power is inconsistent. Some days they have full electricity and other days they don't, she said.
The ones who have any power are lucky.
Diane Fleher, who has family in Colorado, relocated to Puerto Rico a few years ago. She said she only got power back earlier this month.
"We did not gain our power back from either the power company or [the Federal Emergency Management Agency]," Fleher said. "My husband and a group of men went out and pulled the lines."
Now that her electricity has been restored, Fleher said a continuing issue is with water.
"We are having a hard time right now keeping water," she said. "They restored water but we didn't have water the past two weekends for three or four days in a row."
Despite these problems, both Kliesen and Fleher said progress is being made. It's just not happening as fast as they would like.
Hurricane Maria caused an estimated $90 billion in damage, making it the third costliest ever in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hurricane Katrina remains the costliest hurricane on record at $160 billion.
FEMA has approved $1 billion in individual assistance grants for residents of Puerto Rico. More than $500 million has been designated for repairs to bridges, government buildings and other structures.
