Are Puerto Ricans leaving the island after Hurricane Fiona?
Five years after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the island is coping with damages of yet? another destructive storm.
Hurricane Fiona hit the US territory on Monday, kill fourcaused landslides and destroyed bridges while displaced more than a thousand people and left more than a million residents without power.
Some wondered if the storm spurred the kind of migration seen after Hurricane Maria. After that hurricane, more than 123,000 Puerto Ricans were permanently displaced to American states, especially New York and Florida, according to US Census Bureau estimates.
And according to a new USA Today analysis of the 2020 Census results, every municipio—Puerto Rico is equivalent to a county — losing population after Maria compared to the 2010 Census.
Why did Puerto Ricans leave the island?
The island’s population has actually declined since the US territory reached its peak population in 2004, based on a Pew Research Center study, which dropped to about 3.2 million people in 2018. The economic conditions there – especially the mid-2000s recession whose effects lingered – caused residents to leave the island long before hurricanes Irma and Maria hit in September 2017.
Some have left more recently, frustrated by what they see as the continued failure of local authorities to deal with the aftermath.
Marla Perez-Lugo, born in Santurce and raised in Mayaguez, left Puerto Rico last year. Formerly co-director of the National Institute of Energy and Sustainability of Puerto Rico Island, she is now a professor of sociology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
“What pushed me away was my inability to contribute to the restoration and reconstruction of my island,” she said.
Previously reported Census data shows there were nearly 440,000 fewer residents in Puerto Rico over the past decade, a loss of about 12% of the population. During that period, most of the islands municipios suffered more than 10% damage, and almost all of the more than 1,000 inhabitants were lost.
Will Puerto Ricans leave the island again?
Elizabeth Aranda, a sociology professor at the University of South Florida, said she guesses the storm will be a catalyst for anyone who has thought of leaving Puerto Rico.
“It depends on how quickly electricity and water can be restored, and how quickly children can go back to school and people go to work,” she said.
People who rely more on electricity – such as those with chronic health conditions or disabilities – may find it harder to live without electricity, she said, and will be more inclined to leave.
Fernando Rivera, professor of sociology at the University of Central Florida, agrees.
“As days without electricity and water drag along with rising temperatures and the possibility of other downpours, chances are good that people with family and friends in New York or Florida will head to the states looking for relief. relief, especially those who are dealing with health problems. problems,” he said.
Alexandra Lúgaro, 41, executive director of the Puerto Rico Strategic Innovation Center Foundation and a former governor candidate, said some people may leave for specific reasons, such as who bring elderly relatives to the mainland for hospital care.
But she doesn’t think this storm will trigger another wave of permanent migration.
“It is different from Maria,” said Lúgaro. “Because of its wind, you can see everything being destroyed. A lot of people can’t see how they can rebuild.”
Fiona’s water damage doesn’t seem to be worrisome, she said.
“On the contrary, I think there’s a lot of motivation to say, ‘Let’s dry this. Let’s fix it. Help those who have lost everything,” Lúgaro said. “I don’t see Maria’s mood as, ‘I need to get out of Puerto Rico, because there’s no way we can rebuild.’
What happens next in Puerto Rico?
For Puerto Rico, Fiona is the latest in a long string of crises. After hurricanes Irma and Maria, a wave of earthquakes hit the island in 2019 and 2020; followed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My guess is that Puerto Ricans are tired and there is growing discontent, even anger, towards the government for not making more progress since Hurricane Maria,” Aranda said. “Those who have the means to leave and the desire to do so will in fact leave. But this is nothing new. Puerto Ricans have been off the island for decades.”
As with Hurricane Maria, some relocation operations may be temporary as people await recovery efforts. But if much of the migration persists, it will impede the territory’s ability to recover from previous economic struggles and meet public debt obligations, especially those imposed by the government. Puerto Rico Financial Supervisory Set.
“Time is of the essence to restore basic utilities and build confidence that the island can move forward,” he said. “The diaspora in Central Florida is ready to help those on the island and those who decide to come here.”
There are now more Puerto Ricans living on the US mainland than on the island itself. According to the Pew Center, the number of Puerto Ricans living in states increased from 3.4 million to 5.6 million between 2000 and 2017.
What does Puerto Rican immigration mean for the United States?
In a 2020 study in Orlando, Florida, researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that the influx of Puerto Ricans following Hurricane Maria overall employment increaseincreased employment in the construction industry in particular by 4%.
Economics professor Giovanni Peri, lead author of the study chapter.
Among the factors that make up the group’s successful uptake, Peri says, are their legal working status and a friendly community that is willing to connect them with job opportunities in the local economy. developing side.
Those factors are coming into play again – if not more, he said, in light of the Florida economy’s current worker shortage and underemployment in the hospitality and construction sectors. .
“If people from Puerto Rico go to some of the same locations, they can have an even stronger impact in stimulating the local economy and finding jobs,” Peri said.