Puerto Rico's libraries, archives and museums road to recovery: A timeline of events after Hurricane Maria

September 2017

September 6 2017
Event - Hurricane Irma
Category 5 Hurricane Irma’s eyewall passed 50 nautical miles North of San Juan. Even though the mainland only experienced tropical storm winds, it rained 10 to 15 inches in high elevations; over 80,000 persons reported losing access to potable water and 1,079,465 were without electricity.

September 20 2017
Event - Hurricane Maria
With 155 mph winds, Hurricane Maria eyewall makes landfall on Yabucoa at 6:15am. Crossing diagonally the Island, existing through Arecibo at 2:00pm. Despite its classification according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale as a Category 4, the lack of accurate data when moving across Puerto Rico caused by the loss of the Doppler Radar and the immensity of its 28 miles eye radius supports that stronger wind gust were felt in higher elevations. Over 38 inches of rain and surges up to 9 feet caused flooding and landslides affecting access to roads and communities for weeks. The electrical grid was destroyed, leaving the entire Island without power and potable water.

September 20 2017
Funding - ALA Disaster Relief Fund to support Caribbean islands, Mexico, Puerto Rico, library rebuilding efforts
The American Library Association (ALA) extends its call for funding to the Caribbean. The news release exhorts members to donate to help support the recovery efforts.

September 25 2017
Fundind - NEH Chairman’s Emergency Grants Available for Humanities Institutions Impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria
The National Endowment for the Humanities Grant was extended to cover damages in museums, archives, libraries, colleges, and other nonprofit cultural organizations affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in FEMA-designated disaster zones. These fastrack funding was for up to $30,000 dollars.

September 27 2017
Publication - “En buen estado las colecciones de arte del país” by Mariela Fullana Acosta published at El Nuevo Día
The first article related to the state of cultural institutions in Puerto Rico, presents the overall damages experienced by the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, El Museo de San Juan y el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo.

September 29 2017
Event - Puerto Rico Mapathon for Hurricane Relief
Thousands of people gather in different Universities, responding to a call from Columbia University Libraries and Columbia’s Group for Experimental Methods in the Humanities, to map Puerto Rico and aid officials to get to different places after the disaster. This effort took place for a few weeks.

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