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Hurricane recovery for an unauthorized immigrant in Houston has added obstacles

Oct 25, 2017
Challenges like housing, transportation and finances are especially difficult.
A truck drives through high water along a street in Orange, Texas, on Sept. 6, more than a week after Hurricane Harvey made landfall.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with turning the lights back on in Puerto Rico

Oct 20, 2017
The mission: Put things back the way they were, including 62,000 telephone poles.
A car drives under tilted power line poles in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 2.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images

After Hurricane Irma, an effort to lure tourist business back to the Florida Keys

Oct 20, 2017
In the Florida Keys, tourism promoters and government officials want visitors to return. But some locals say money should be spent on the basics for permanent residents first.
Most visitors reach Key West by driving down U.S. 1 — since Hurricane Irma, that has meant the once-scenic highway is now lined with debris piles like this one on Ramrod Key.
Nancy Klingener/ for Marketplace

Undocumented residents not eligible for FEMA cash payments after disasters

Oct 17, 2017
After Hurricane Harvey, the hundreds of thousands of undocumented people living in the Houston area will have to find financial relief in other ways.
Flooded homes following Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas.
Win McNamee / Getty Images

Houston is trying to get buyout offers to homeowners quickly

Oct 11, 2017
After hurricanes, government officials buy homes that are "hopelessly at risk" for future flooding and demolish them.
Jean Olson's home in Bellaire is one of many on her street that is inside-out. Even family heirlooms are in her front yard because her house is still uninhabitable.
Filipa Rodrigues/ for Marketplace

What happens when corporations rush in to help in a disaster?

Oct 9, 2017
Will aid from corporations help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria faster?
Kids bike in an area without grid power or running water about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island on October 5, 2017 in San Isidro, Puerto Rico.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Puerto Rican farms are starting over from seeds

Sep 29, 2017
Hurricane Maria devastated farmland on the island.
Irma Maldanado stands with Sussury her parrot and her dog in what is left of her home that was destroyed when Hurricane Maria passed through on September 27, 2017 in Corozal, Puerto Rico. 
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Hurricane Irma brings issues of poverty in Miami into stark relief

Sep 28, 2017
Miami-Dade’s poorest are hard hit by Hurricane Irma and its aftermath.
A car is seen in a flooded street as Hurricane Irma passes through on September 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Puerto Rico needs food, water and fuel. Can lifting shipping restrictions help?

Sep 27, 2017
Trump's administration said it won't lift the Jones Act restrictions as there are enough U.S. ships to help Puerto Rico. While previous presidents have lifted the restrictions following natural disasters, “the situation in Puerto Rico is much different,” said Gregory Moore, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A U.S. Coast Guard cutter is seen in port as people deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on September 25, 2017 in San Juan Puerto Rico. Maria left widespread damage across Puerto Rico, with virtually the whole island without power or cell service.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

More residents are expected to flee Puerto Rico, contributing to the brain drain

Sep 27, 2017
Hurricane Maria has devastated Puerto Rico’s already fragile economy.
People wait in line to get a flight out of the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport as they try to return home or escape the conditions after Hurricane Maria on September 26, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images