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Severe storms --- Hurricane Harvey, 2017. --- Hurricane Irma, 2017.

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To establish an evidence-based foundation for the congressionally required short- and long-term recovery and resilience plan for Puerto Rico following the 2017 hurricanes, the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center assessed the damage from the 2017 hurricane season and remaining needs across the commonwealth in collaboration with federal agencies, the government of Puerto Rico, and other stakeholders. The experts examined what happened during and after Hurricanes Irma and Maria but also how the effects of the hurricanes exacerbated and were exacerbated by predisaster challenges and stressors. This report provides a comprehensive summary of the commonwealth's challenges and status before and after the storms hit, including their effects on Puerto Rico's people and communities; economy; built and natural environments; and education, health, and social services. Before the hurricanes, Puerto Rico faced an economic crisis, a shrinking, aging population, substandard public education, poverty, poor housing stock, governance challenges, neglect of infrastructure and resources, and environmental degradation. Hurricane Maria's direct and devastating landfall on Puerto Rico in September 2017 only exacerbated these challenges. The research team identified short- and longer-term needs for Puerto Rico's recovery and resilience. In the short term, Puerto Rico needs to repair damaged critical infrastructure; improve governance and fiscal accountability; update emergency-preparedness plans; clearly delineate responsibility for infrastructure, assets, and services; and repair damaged and destroyed homes. In the longer term, Puerto Rico will need to systematically address its economic challenges; scale its social services and infrastructure systems for current and future populations; reinforce its infrastructure against natural hazards and build it to modern standards; reduce building-permit and code-enforcement breaches; report timely and accurate data on its economic and fiscal status; and gather further knowledge to inform long-term resilience decisions.

Hurricane damage --- Hurricane Irma, 2017. --- Hurricane Maria, 2017. --- Puerto Rico.

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Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017. The Federal Emergency Management Agency asked the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center to develop a long-range recovery plan for the damage to Puerto Rico, incorporating all of the sectors indicated in the National Disaster Recovery Framework. This report provides a comprehensive evaluation of the transportation sector. It includes a detailed description of prestorm conditions across surface, maritime, and air transportation; descriptions of the damage caused by the hurricanes, including physical damage and estimated costs to repair them; and a list of proposed courses of action selected by the government of Puerto Rico. Before the hurricanes, transportation in Puerto Rico was marked by roads and bridges in only fair condition, a public transportation system with low service provision and declining ridership, a high reliance on one seaport and one airport, declining cargo movements, and significant fiscal solvency concerns. The hurricanes produced widespread damage to the transportation sector, totaling an estimated

Hurricane damage --- Hurricane Irma, 2017. --- Hurricane Maria, 2017. --- Transportation --- Hurricane effects --- Puerto Rico.

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The government of Puerto Rico developed a plan to recover from the destruction caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, build resilience to withstand future disasters, and restore the struggling economy. The Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC), operated by RAND Corporation under contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist with the development of the plan. Acting in support of FEMA's Community Planning and Capacity Building (CPCB) sector, HSOAC conducted surveys, interviews, and focus groups with municipalities, government leaders, subject-matter experts (with expertise in law enforcement, emergency management, community planning, etc.), nonprofits, and community residents, among others, to provide critical community context for CPCB efforts. HSOAC also used multiple data sources to estimate the outmigration of residents who in the wake of the hurricane moved out of their communities to the continental United States. The authors describe the status of Puerto Rico's communities in terms of population characteristics and dynamics, community and individual preparedness, and economic pressures leading up to the landfalls of the hurricanes. They also report on the impact that the hurricanes had on Puerto Rico's communities in terms of damage, community stress, and migration away from the island. These analyses and discussions informed the development of 15 courses of action (COAs) aimed at improving Puerto Rico's capacity for emergency preparedness, coordination, communication, recovery planning, and research and training, to meet the needs of Puerto Rico and its vulnerable communities during a disaster.

Community development --- Hurricane damage --- Hurricane Irma, 2017. --- Hurricane Maria, 2017. --- Puerto Rico.

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The aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria highlighted vulnerabilities in Puerto Rico's water sector. Hurricane damage spanned Puerto Rico's water infrastructure, including drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and flood control, as well as its water resources. This damage was attributed to multiple causes: the preexisting vulnerability of the water sector infrastructure; direct damage from Hurricanes Irma and Maria; and indirect disruption stemming from damage in other sectors, particularly the loss of electrical power. The recovery plan for the water sector in Puerto Rico involves not only repairing hurricane-damaged water infrastructure and systems but also fixing the significant legacy challenges in the water sector's infrastructure, operations, and governance. This report details a framework for a hurricane recovery made up of 30 courses of action consistent with the government of Puerto Rico's priorities. These courses of action address key opportunities for enhancing resilience in Puerto Rico's water sector, which include upgrading the physical infrastructure, as well as asset management and operational systems, with the objective of developing systems that are better hardened against extreme events but also more flexible and efficient. In addition, building capacity of water sector management organizations and personnel can enhance efficiency, contingency planning, and the ability to take advantage of new technologies and practices. Improving situational awareness of water sector assets and developing performance metrics that can be tracked in real time can provide early warning of problems and accelerate emergency responses.

Water-supply --- Water resources development --- Hurricane damage --- Hurricane Irma, 2017. --- Hurricane Maria, 2017. --- Puerto Rico.