Nearly 7 Months Later, 60,000+ Still Without Power in Puerto Rico

Nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria lashed Puerto Rico as a high-end Category 4 storm, more than 60,000 Puerto Ricans remain without power, according to figures from Puerto Rico's official recovery agency. The 60,000 figure, or about 5 percent of the island's population, is still without electricity despite nearly seven months since Maria made landfall on September 20th of last year. That said, Puerto Rico is slowly getting back closer to pre-storm conditions in other respects, however. More than 99 percent of Puerto Ricans have running water, all of the island's postal service offices have re-opened, 92 percent of supermarkets have reopened and 88 percent of gas stations are back up and running. An estimated 200,000 or more people fled Puerto Rico after Maria, with the overwhelming majority of those moving to Florida. The lack of power to parts of Puerto Rico is of potential increasing concern as we get closer to the start of 2018 hurricane season. The first outlooks for the season have already been released, and the possibility of more storms will return to the area in the next few months. Stay with WeatherNation as we continue to track Maria's impact on Puerto Rico and the ongoing cleanup efforts there. HOW YOU CAN HELP: Those who are interested in helping out residents of Puerto Rico should consider a monetary donation. The Red Cross continues to support those recovering from the storm. Click the link to make a charitable donation. There are several other organizations that will accept contributions for continuing support, not only in Puerto Rico but other areas affected by this devastating hurricane season. Here are a few of those: MariaFund.org , Fund for the Virgin Islands , Unidos por Puerto Rico,  Unidos by the Hispanic Federation, Dominica Relief, AmericCares, and so many more. We encourage you to check your local area for continued relief efforts.   For WeatherNation: Meteorologist Chris Bianchi