Massachusetts residents concerned about loved ones in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona

By Courtney Cole, WBZ-TV

WALTHAM - Five years ago Tuesday, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico. It killed thousands of people, led to major damage to the island's infrastructure and left thousands without electricity. And now, Hurricane Fiona leaves the people on the island in a similar situation, again.

Puerto Rico is a place Ana Torres says she will always fondly think of as home.

"I moved here when I was 11-years-old and I grew up in the beauty that is Puerto Rico," Torres told WBZ-TV's Courtney Cole.

Beauty that extends beyond the beaches, but rather, one that is built around the sense of community that can be felt on Isla del Encanto, The Island of Enchantment.

"It feels really welcoming and that's one of the pieces I probably miss the most about Puerto Rico," Torres told WBZ.

Torres told Cole that seeing the devastating images of flooding and damage to the island is so difficult, because the island was still working to rebuild after Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Ana's mother, Evelyn Colon and her father, Osvaldo Torres are a part of her ties to the island. They both still live there right now, along with her brother.

"We went a whole day without being able to contact them and we're like - well no news hopefully it's good news, but we can't contact them, so we don't know if they're OK," Torres explained.

Torres told Cole she was eventually able to get in contact with them Monday, but not knowing what was going on was for a period of time-was still unnerving.

"The first few calls wouldn't even go through, like it... of course everyone is calling, everyone is trying to make sure the family's OK. And then when I learned that there was no electricity."

Torres told Cole after Hurricane Maria they got a generator to make sure that her family wouldn't be left in the dark.

Torres said she and her family are from Villalba.

"It's a small-town south of Ponce. Ponce is probably the closest town to us. It's in the southeastern part of Puerto Rico. It's actually one of the parts that was most bombarded, this time, by the storm," Torres explained.

On the 5-year-anniversary of Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, she told WBZ it feels like Deja vu.

"Right now, they are reliving all of the trauma and all of those fears and they're in the dark again. So, it's hard to watch," Torres said.

Bob Myers, The Disaster Services Director, Salvation Army Eastern Territory, told Cole Puerto Rico is one of their coverage areas that has gone through a number of storms over the last five to 10 years.

"We have disaster personnel year-round in Puerto Rico and then our local salvation core community centers all have a presence at 10 different areas across the island," said Myers.

But no matter what, Myers said they are committed to serving these communities.

To put the impact of Hurricane Maria into perspective-- Myers told Cole they closed their last open cases on the island, from the 2017 storm, in Spring of 2020.

"As long as it takes to help them turn the corner back to whatever new normal looks like. It may not ever get back to what it was before storm, but whatever we can do to help stabilize and get people on the path moving forward--that's certainly what one of major goals is," said Myers.

If you're looking for a way to help people on the island of Puerto Rico, the Salvation Army says you can give a monetary donation or volunteer.

CLICK HERE to learn more.