If you visited San Juan in early 2017, you remember the hum. It wasn't just the salsa coming out of La Placita de Santurce or the crashing waves at Condado. It was a hum of activity, of a place wrestling with a debt crisis but still deeply, vibrantly alive. Then came September 20. When we talk about Puerto Rico before and after Maria, we aren't just talking about a storm. We are talking about a total severance of time. There is the "before," and there is the "now."
The statistics are numbing. Hurricane Maria made landfall as a high-end Category 4 with winds of 155 mph. It wasn't just the wind, though. It was the rain—nearly 40 inches in some spots. It turned the lush, green Cordillera Central into a brown, scarred landscape that looked like it had been scorched by fire.
Honestly, the "after" didn't last for a few weeks. It lasted for years. For many families in the mountains of Utuado or Jayuya, the "after" is still happening.
The Infrastructure Myth and the Reality of the Grid
Before the storm, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) was already a mess. Let’s be real. The grid was held together by literal duct tape and prayers. Decades of neglected maintenance and a $9 billion debt meant the system was fragile.
Then Maria hit.
The entire island went dark. Every single person. It became the longest blackout in US history. You’ve probably heard about the "reconstruction," but the reality on the ground was a nightmare of logistics. Because Puerto Rico is an archipelago, everything had to come by sea, hampered by the Jones Act, which many locals argue made the recovery much more expensive and slower than it should have been.
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Today, the grid is "privatized" under LUMA Energy, but if you ask anyone living in Mayagüez, they’ll tell you the reliability is still shaky. Voltage fluctuations destroy appliances. It’s a constant stressor. The shift toward solar has been the one silver lining. Before Maria, residential solar was a luxury. Now? It’s a survival strategy. Tesla Powerwalls and Sunrun panels are dotting rooftops everywhere because people simply don't trust the government to keep the lights on.
The Human Cost: Beyond the 2,975
For a long time, the official death toll was 64.
That number was an insult.
It took a massive study by George Washington University, commissioned after intense public pressure, to reach the estimate of 2,975 excess deaths. But even that number is just a data point. The reality of Puerto Rico before and after Maria is found in the migration patterns. Between 2010 and 2020, the island’s population dropped by nearly 12%.
People didn't just leave for better jobs; they left because they couldn't plug in their oxygen concentrators. They left because the schools stayed closed. They left because the trauma of hearing rain on a tin roof became too much to bear. This "brain drain" has left the island with a shortage of doctors and specialized professionals, creating a secondary health crisis that persists today.
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The Transformation of Tourism
If you’re a traveler, you might not see the scars immediately. San Juan looks incredible. The colonial blue cobblestones of Old San Juan are as charming as ever. In fact, tourism has actually seen a weirdly massive boom post-Maria.
- Short-term rentals: Before the storm, Airbnb was present but not dominant. After the storm, as people moved away, many homes were converted into rentals. This has fueled a massive debate about gentrification and Act 60 (tax breaks for wealthy investors).
- Infrastructure focus: Most of the federal recovery money focused on the "Tourist Zones." This means the airport (SJU) and the hotels in Isla Verde are often in better shape now than they were in 2016.
- Eco-Tourism: There’s a new respect for the land. Places like El Yunque National Forest had to be painstakingly rebuilt. The trails you hike today are different; the canopy is thinner in places, a reminder of the 2017 defoliation.
Why the Economy Feels Different
Before Maria, the conversation was about the "Promesa" bill and the fiscal oversight board (La Junta). After Maria, the conversation shifted to "disaster capitalism."
Billions in CDBG-DR funds finally started flowing, but the "flow" is more like a drip. As of 2024 and 2025, much of that money is still tied up in bureaucratic red tape. You see it in the blue tarps. Even years later, you can take a small plane over the island and see those blue squares. They are the unofficial flag of the "after."
But there is a grit there that didn't exist before. The "Self-Managed" movement (Autogestión) has exploded. Communities like Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas decided they weren't waiting for the government anymore. They built their own solar microgrids. They created their own radio stations. The "before" was a time of waiting for help; the "after" is a time of building it yourself.
Natural Resilience and the Scarred Landscape
The environment of Puerto Rico before and after Maria is a lesson in biology. The island was stripped bare. Scientists from the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research site found that while the forest can regrow, the species composition is changing. Faster-growing, invasive trees are sometimes beating out the slow-growing native hardwoods.
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The beaches changed, too. Coastal erosion in places like Rincón was accelerated by the storm surges. Some houses that were "beachfront" before are now literally in the water. It has forced a very uncomfortable conversation about climate change and where it is actually safe to build on an island.
Actionable Steps for Understanding the Current State
If you are looking to support the island or understand the ongoing transition, don't just look at the headlines. The story is in the neighborhoods.
- Support Local Microgrids: Organizations like Casa Pueblo or Solar Libre are doing the actual work of energy independence. Supporting them is more impactful than general aid.
- Acknowledge the Act 60 Tension: Understand that when you visit, there is a tension between the "new" residents moving in for tax breaks and the locals who survived the storm and are being priced out.
- Venture Past San Juan: To see the real "after," you have to go to the center of the island. Eat at the lechoneras in Guavate, visit the coffee haciendas in the mountains, and see the resilience firsthand.
- Check the Data: Follow the Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI) in Puerto Rico. They are the ones who broke the story on the actual death toll and continue to track where the recovery money is actually going.
The story of Puerto Rico isn't a tragedy anymore—it's a transformation. It is a place that was forced to reinvent itself under the most brutal conditions imaginable. The "before" is gone, and the "after" is still being written by the people who stayed.
The island is open, it is beautiful, and it is complicated. It deserves to be seen as more than just a disaster zone or a vacation spot. It’s a lesson in what happens when a community decides that "normal" wasn't good enough anyway.