Member News

Notes from the Field: Impact of Fiona in Puerto Rico

October 4, 2022

Inclusiv Network Update: Impact of Fiona in Puerto Rico

Due to its location and tropical climate, Puerto Rico has always been exposed to hurricanes. A week ago, forecasts indicated that Tropical Storm Fiona would pass across the southern end of Puerto Rico. Rain was expected, as well as moderate-intensity winds. As Puerto Ricans, we prepare as best we can under the circumstances and went into the now very familiar preparation drill: stocking up on food and fuel and boarding doors and windows. Our ninety-two member cooperativas activated their contingency plans and prepared their operations to ensure business continuity.

We learned a crucial lesson in 2017 as Hurricane María ravaged the island, destroying the power grid, communications, and critical infrastructure. Our cooperativas played a principal role in the recovery effort, transforming community centers into resources providing cash, supplies, electricity, and leading other lifesaving initiatives. Despite our best efforts, the experience was still intensely traumatic for many Puerto Ricans. You can learn more about their response here.

In the five years since Hurricane Maria the electric grid has been mostly rebuilt, but with the same critical structural deficiencies that led to its initial collapse. Billions of dollars in critical infrastructure funding are still waiting to be disbursed. Within a day of Hurricane Fiona’s arrival, the power grid started to fail. During the first rainstorms hundreds of thousands of people lost power, with an island-wide blackout following soon after. When Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 1 hurricane, its slow rotation generated a historic level of rainfall, in some places upwards of 30 inches, causing rivers to swell and sweeping away bridges, roads, houses, and infrastructure. Heavy winds tore off roofs and blue tarps used as additional layers of protection. Roads crumbled and became impassable. Seventy five percent of residents lost access to potable water. Communications were disrupted and entire regions have become isolated. The damage is more evident in the southwest of the island where recent landslides weakened vital infrastructure.

Today, as Fiona slowly leaves us and we begin to take stock of the devastation, the recovery begins. Most cooperativas have resumed operations, albeit in a limited capacity, again playing their roles as financial first responders providing access to cash and supplies when it is most needed reminiscent of their life-saving response during Hurricane María. Inclusiv has been working around the clock to assess impact and areas of need/support. At Inclusiv’s request, the CDFI Fund extended the deadline to submit ERP applications to October 6 for CDFIs impacted by Hurricane Fiona. Other CDFI Fund deadlines have also been extended. For more information, click here. We thank the CDFI Fund for quickly recognizing the challenges CDFIs face in Puerto Rico and providing additional flexibility. Inclusiv is in conversations with the National Credit Union Foundation and the New York Credit Union Association to activate CUAID and provide emergency funds to employees and volunteers impacted by the natural disaster. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, these three organizations came together to send over half a million dollars in relief funds. Inclusiv is in conversations with the National Credit Union Foundation and the New York Credit Union Association to activate CUAID and provide emergency funds to employees and volunteers impacted by the natural disaster. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, these three organizations came together to send over half a million dollars in relief funds.

In collaboration with our local partners, such as the Asociacion de Ejecutivos de Cooperativas de Puerto Rico (ASEC), the Corporación Para la Supervision y Seguros de Cooperativas de Puerto Rico (COSSEC), the regulator and the SBA, we will continue working to help our member cooperativas access resources and assistance. Learn more about the Puerto Rico CDFI Initiative here. To learn how to support Puerto Rico cooperativas, please contact Pablo DeFilippi, EVP of Inclusiv Network at pablo@inclusiv.org and René A. Vargas Martínez, Puerto Rico Network Director at rvargasmartinez@inclusiv.org. Rene Vargas Martinez Director, Puerto Rico Network

From Inclusiv Board Members in Puerto Rico:

“Fiona was an unwelcome visit. It has left destruction and sadness in our hearts. Even at this time we are receiving strong winds and rain has not stopped. We are without an electrical system, streets cut off and rivers overflowing but we are a strong and resilient people. We get ahead.”

-Nereida Seda Vargas, CEO of Lajas Coop and Inclusiv board member

“Some employees suffered material losses or experienced floods that we will be attending immediately. We do not have electricity and we are using electricity generators, as in almost the entire Island. The most serious damage of Fiona over PR is the prolonged exposure to rain, wind, and Hurricane conditions. We do not see the end of these conditions and still do not know the magnitude of the devastation caused at this time but it’s considerable. In some places it has rained more than during Hurricane Maria (which was a historical record). The situation is "catastrophic" in many places. There is no other way to define it. Still, at this time, we are under a tropical storm warning, due to the rain and winds and the government and first responders are in rescue processes. The damage to the infrastructure in general of roads, energy and water is greater. We must recognize that Cooperativas, collectively, greatly improved our response capacity and continuity of operations after María. Now, that resiliency will be put to work for our communities and our members. I always say: "Solidarity grows and develops in scarcity, better than in abundance". In difficult times, Puerto Ricans say, optimistically: "Pa'lante, siempre" (We always go forward).