Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico in late September of last year, and residents are still struggling to regain their footing. Approximately 450,000 of Puerto Rico’s 1.5 million electricity customers are still without power, and those who do have electricity suffer frequent blackouts. Locals are doing what they can, some stringing their own power lines, others looking to solar power and other renewable sources for short-term lighting use, and long-term, larger-scale planning. While work continues slowly on restoring power, the tremendous destruction has resulted in a cascade of further problems, including job losses, foreclosures, a decrease in neighborhood police presence and a resulting increase in violent crimes. Reuters photographer Alvin Baez spent much of the past two weeks in Puerto Rico, documenting what life is like for the survivors of Hurricane Maria who remain on the island months later.
After Four Months, Much of Puerto Rico Still Dark and Damaged
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Read morePart of the Central Palo Seco power station of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), seen behind a cemetery in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on January 22, 2018. #
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Read moreA woman looks at her mobile phone while sitting in the dark outside her home with her dog, months after Hurricane Maria damaged the electrical grid in September of 2017, in Naguabo, Puerto Rico, on January 25, 2018. #
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Read moreHurricane-destroyed satellite dishes in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on January 25, 2018. #
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Read moreErnestina Lebron looks in her refrigerator while standing in her storm-damaged home in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, on January 27, 2018. #
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Read moreA broken basketball hoop stands in the Cubuy neighborhood in Maunabo on January 27, 2018. #
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Read moreMen pump gasoline into a container in Maunabo on January 27, 2018. #
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Read moreA man rides a bicycle past downed cables and a partially collapsed utility pole, after Hurricane Maria hit the island in September, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on January 25, 2018. The sign reads: "Equestrian agency Tiki-Tiki." #
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Read moreThe remains of a house stand in the El Negro neighborhood in Maunabo on January 27, 2018. #
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Read moreA few houses are lit among those in the dark in Naguabo on January 25, 2018. #
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Read moreA woman uses a flashlight while trying to connect a transformer to a car battery in Maunabo on January 27, 2018. #
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Read moreAn oil lamp sits on top of a washing machine in Ana Perez's home in Naguabo on January 26, 2018. #
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Read moreAlberto Julian and his wife Zulma Rodriguez try to fix their television, powered with the help of a generator, in Dorado, Puerto Rico, on January 15, 2018. #
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Read moreA dock is seen in the dark after Hurricane Maria damaged the electrical grid in September 2017 in Naguabo, Puerto Rico, on January 25, 2018. #
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Read moreA horse looks through a half-covered window in a home that was damaged by Hurricane Maria in Naguabo on January 26, 2018. #
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Read moreA chained dog lies on a rock in a neighborhood that was hit by Hurricane Maria in Maunabo on January 27, 2018. #
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Read morePaula Feliciano looks after her ailing husband, Severo Cruz, in Naguabo, on January 26, 2018. #
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Read moreDoctor Maria Alonso (right, purple shirt) and medical students from the University of Puerto Rico visit patients in a neighborhood affected by Hurricane Maria in Corozal, Puerto Rico, on January 20, 2018. #
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Read moreDentists and dentistry students attend to patients in a makeshift clinic set up at the Charismatic Church in Corozal on January 20, 2018. #
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Read moreDentists and dentistry students attend to patients in a makeshift clinic in Corozal, Puerto Rico, on January 20, 2018. #
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Read moreCattle walk past solar panels destroyed by Hurricane Maria in Maunabo on January 27, 2018. #
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Read moreMiguel Garcia removes debris in what is left of his home in Maunabo on January 27, 2018. #
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Read moreThe remains of a basketball court in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, on January 27, 2018. #
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Read moreAngel Morales sits on a sofa in his home without windowpanes in Maunabo on January 27, 2018. #
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Read moreLourdes Rodriguez (right) cleans while her husband repairs the roof of their home, damaged by Hurricane Maria, in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, on January 27, 2018. #
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Read moreHorses graze as cars drive past partially collapsed utility poles in Naguabo on January 25, 2018. #
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Read moreBrandon Gomez cuts Pablo Sanchez's hair with an electric razor, powered by a car battery outside his home in Naguabo on January 25, 2018. #
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Read moreAna Perez uses a solar lamp inside the bathroom of her home in Naguabo on January 26, 2018. #
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Read moreA house is lit up with the help of a generator next to houses still in the dark in Dorado, Puerto Rico, on January 15, 2018. #
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Read moreAngel Arroyo holds a flashlight while turning on a generator in Dorado on January 15, 2018. #
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Read moreHouses stand seen in the dark in a neighborhood still without electricity after the electrical grid was damaged by Hurricane Maria in September, in Dorado, Puerto Rico, on January 22, 2018. #
Alvin Baez / Reuters
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