Articles on Hurricane Maria

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The intensity of heavy downpours in Houston has increased dramatically since the 1950s, leading some people to argue the city’s disaster planning and infrastructure are not up-to-date. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Can cities get smarter about extreme weather?

It's not just about rebuilding infrastructure after storms: Cities need to systematically rethink their knowledge systems which are at the heart of urban resilience.
Soldiers deliver food and water following Hurricane Maria. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Maria will fundamentally change US policy toward Puerto Rico

Two hurricanes in Puerto Rico's past fundamentally transformed the island's economy and politics. Maria will be the third, says a historian.
Plush toys, recovered from a flooded home, hang out to dry on a wrought iron gate in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Ramon Espinosa/AP

The mental health toll of Puerto Rico’s prolonged power outages

Long after the hurricane's over and the power comes back, residents can still experience lasting mental health issues.
He didn’t throw paper towels in Texas. Why Puerto Rico? AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Is racial bias driving Trump’s neglect of Puerto Rico?

Evidence shows that US taxpayers are less willing to support extensive disaster relief when the victims are not white. Could that explain the Trump administration's lackluster support for Puerto Rico?
Few Puerto Ricans expect the Trump administration to help the island as it did hurricane-hit Texas and Florida, yet the island’s recent bankruptcy has left it facing a humanitarian disaster. Reuters/Ricardo Rojas

Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy will make hurricane recovery brutal – here’s why

Hurricane Maria has left 3.4 million Puerto Ricans facing shortages of food, health care and transit, an American humanitarian crisis fueled by the US territory's May 2017 bankruptcy.
A satellite image of Hurricane Irma spiraling through the Caribbean. NOAA/AP

In the Caribbean, colonialism and inequality mean hurricanes hit harder

The Caribbean is facing its second deadly hurricane in as many weeks. This isn't just bad luck: the region's extreme vulnerability to disaster also reflects entrenched social inequalities.

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