What damage does a Category 4 hurricane cause? The National Hurricane Center says “[With winds of 130-156mph (209-251 km/h)] catastrophic damage will occur. Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”

“The devastation in Puerto Rico has set us back nearly 20 to 30 years,” Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez told the Associated Press. “I can’t deny that the Puerto Rico of now is different from that of a week ago. The destruction of properties, of flattened structures, of families without homes, of debris everywhere. The island’s greenery is gone.”

Another result of the hurricane the threat of the Guajataca Dam breaking open and releasing 11 billion gallons of water over the surrounding area below.

“Abner Gomez, executive director of Puerto Rico’s emergency management agency, told the New York Post Friday that the dam’s floodgates suffered mechanical damage during the storm, which made it impossible for authorities to open and let out normal water currents. Gomez noted that ‘there is no way to fix it’ right now considering the conditions and said if the dam tops over or fails structurally, ‘thousands of people could die.’” (weather.com).

70,000 people in the communities surrounding the dam have been advised to evacuate. 

Please join World Renew in praying for the Lord’s hand to sustain the dam and for a solution to fix the damage.

How is World Renew Disaster Response Services (DRS) responding in Puerto Rico?

“We’ve had contact with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) personnel in both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and reached out to a Reformed Church in America in the U.S. Virgin Islands. From what we’ve heard from them and what we hear from social media there is already a lot of devastation and more to come,” said World Renew DRS Regional Managers, Len and Carrie Blauwkamp. “We will continue to stay connected to see if there are ways World Renew can help.”

World Renew DRS has provided services to Puerto Rico in the past including early assessment and reconstruction in the 90’s.