Several generations of the Sortre family rode out Hurricane Maria in a neighbor's concrete home, listening to ferocious wind flinging wood and other debris against the roof and hoping it wasn't pieces of their own wooden houses.
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Juana Sortre Vazquez sits on her soaked couch in what remains of her home, destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenza neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. "The night of the hurricane I spent the night at a nieces house. I did not come back for the next 9 days because the roads where out. When a made it home I saw that is was all gone. This is a disaster," she said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Blanca Rivera and Eduard Rodriguez sleep in their car to protect themselves from the elements, since their house was destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. "The night of the hurricane we protected ourselves in the basement. Helicopters fly by but they do not bring any help," he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Their hopes were crushed when they emerged the morning after the storm passed over their village in the Morovis municipality in the mountains of central Puerto Rico.
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Several generations of the Sortre family rode out Hurricane Maria in a neighbor's concrete home, listening to ferocious wind flinging wood and other debris against the roof and hoping it wasn't pieces of their own wooden houses.
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Blanca Rivera and Eduard Rodriguez sleep in their car to protect themselves from the elements, since their house was destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. "The night of the hurricane we protected ourselves in the basement. Helicopters fly by but they do not bring any help," he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Their hopes were crushed when they emerged the morning after the storm passed over their village in the Morovis municipality in the mountains of central Puerto Rico.
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Angel Rodriguez poses next to his belongings in front of his house, destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. Rodriguez said that it rained and rained. "I was really afraid on the night of the hurricane. But the important thing is to be alive," he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Luis Cosme poses sitting in an armchair in what is left of his house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Cosme, a worker at a cleaning company, felt the high winds and ran to the shelter at the Catholic church building. In the morning he came out and saw his house gone. "Thank God I am alive" he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Luis Cosme walks in the remains of his house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Luis, a worker at a cleaning company, felt the high winds and ran to the shelter at the Catholic church building. In the morning he came out and saw his house gone. "Thank God I am alive" he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Ramon Sortre Vazquez, back, drinks coffee next to his brother Angel Luis, next to a flag of the United States in what is left of his house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Ramon suffers from diabetes and he says that he been 10 days without insulin because the lack of power has not let him keep the medicine in a cool place. (AP Photo / Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS - Angel Luis Sortre Vazquez walks into his sister's house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. The night of the hurricane I spent the night with the rest of my family in a strong house made out of concrete." Sortre said. "The next day I saw i had lost my clothes, refrigerator, the roof, the doors and a few windows," he said. My whole family in the nearby houses are in the same situation." he added. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Since then, she and her neighbors have struggled to get by. The electricity is out and their San Lazaro neighborhood is cut off from the rest of the village of San Lorenzo because a bridge washed away.
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS - Yadira Sortre and William Fontan Quintero clean what is left of their house, destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. "We lost everything." he said. They have three children, one lives in Chicago and two live with them in Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS - Two mailboxes are partially buried in mud because of a collapse caused by the rains of Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017.(AP Photo / Ramon Espinosa)
Neighbors are helping each other the best they can. People are eating only once a day and drinking a lot of coffee. Some people are sleeping in cars.
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Two portraits a hat and a shoe belonging to Luis Cosme litter a wall of his downed house destroyed by Hurricane Maria in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Cosme, a worker at a cleaning company, felt the high winds and ran to the shelter at the Catholic church building. In the morning he came out and saw his house gone. "Thank God I am alive" he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- A soaked bed sits in a roam damaged by the passage of hurricane Maria in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. FEMA chief Brock Long said the agency has worked to fix roads, establish emergency power and deliver fuel to hospitals in the island. He said telecommunications are available to about one-third of the island. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Julia Rivera gets up from the makeshift bed in the porch of her house as her children sleep, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. According to Rivera on the night of the hurricane they took shelter in another home and when they came back they saw that their house was destroyed by Hurricane Maria. She is expecting help from the government or they will leave Puerto Rico for anther place, she says. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Julia Rivera lost part of her house and the school where she normally has a job has been damaged. She said she is thinking about moving off the island.
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- A man carries his son on his shoulders between as he wades a river in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Because of the strength of Hurricane Maria, the bridge that communicates the neighborhood with the town was washed away, leaving San Lorenzo partly incommunicated from the rest of the town. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Salvador Sortre Vazquez , center, and his brother Angel Luis walk on the mountain in direction in what is left of their house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Ramon is a cancer patient and they do not have water or electricity. (AP Photo / Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Yadira Sortre and William Fontan Quintero clean their house, destroyed by Hurricane Maria in in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. "We lost everything." Fontan said. They have three children, one lives in Chicago and two live with them in Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS -The foundations of a heavily damaged house stand the mountains after the passing of Hurricane Maria in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. FEMA chief Brock Long said the agency has worked to fix roads, establish emergency power and deliver fuel to hospitals. He said telecommunications are available to about one-third of the island. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
"When I saw the house I felt immense sadness because I lost everything I had gained with the sacrifices made over the years," said Yadira Sortre.
She said her house, her mother's and those of her siblings were destroyed. "The whole family lost everything," she said.
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS - Yadira Sortre and William Fontan Quintero pose to what is left of their belongings, destroyed by Hurricane Maria while their children build a room to protect themselves from the elements, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. "We lost everything," Fontan said. They have three children, one lives in Chicago and two live with them in Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Angel Rodriguez poses next to his belongings in front of his house, destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. Rodriguez said that it rained and rained. "I was really afraid on the night of the hurricane. But the important thing is to be alive," he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Luis Cosme poses sitting in an armchair in what is left of his house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Cosme, a worker at a cleaning company, felt the high winds and ran to the shelter at the Catholic church building. In the morning he came out and saw his house gone. "Thank God I am alive" he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Luis Cosme walks in the remains of his house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Luis, a worker at a cleaning company, felt the high winds and ran to the shelter at the Catholic church building. In the morning he came out and saw his house gone. "Thank God I am alive" he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Ramon Sortre Vazquez, back, drinks coffee next to his brother Angel Luis, next to a flag of the United States in what is left of his house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Ramon suffers from diabetes and he says that he been 10 days without insulin because the lack of power has not let him keep the medicine in a cool place. (AP Photo / Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS - Angel Luis Sortre Vazquez walks into his sister's house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. The night of the hurricane I spent the night with the rest of my family in a strong house made out of concrete." Sortre said. "The next day I saw i had lost my clothes, refrigerator, the roof, the doors and a few windows," he said. My whole family in the nearby houses are in the same situation." he added. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Since then, she and her neighbors have struggled to get by. The electricity is out and their San Lazaro neighborhood is cut off from the rest of the village of San Lorenzo because a bridge washed away.
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- A woman washes her clothes with water from the mountain while Ramon Sortre Vazquez walks with his dog, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Ramon suffers from diabetes and he says that he been 10 days without insulin because the lack of power has not let him keep the medicine in a cool place. (AP Photo / Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS - Yadira Sortre and William Fontan Quintero clean what is left of their house, destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. "We lost everything." he said. They have three children, one lives in Chicago and two live with them in Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS - Two mailboxes are partially buried in mud because of a collapse caused by the rains of Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017.(AP Photo / Ramon Espinosa)
Neighbors are helping each other the best they can. People are eating only once a day and drinking a lot of coffee. Some people are sleeping in cars.
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS - Yadira Sortre and William Fontan Quintero clean what is left of their house, destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. "We lost everything." he said. They have three children, one lives in Chicago and two live with them in Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Two portraits a hat and a shoe belonging to Luis Cosme litter a wall of his downed house destroyed by Hurricane Maria in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Cosme, a worker at a cleaning company, felt the high winds and ran to the shelter at the Catholic church building. In the morning he came out and saw his house gone. "Thank God I am alive" he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- A soaked bed sits in a roam damaged by the passage of hurricane Maria in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. FEMA chief Brock Long said the agency has worked to fix roads, establish emergency power and deliver fuel to hospitals in the island. He said telecommunications are available to about one-third of the island. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Julia Rivera gets up from the makeshift bed in the porch of her house as her children sleep, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. According to Rivera on the night of the hurricane they took shelter in another home and when they came back they saw that their house was destroyed by Hurricane Maria. She is expecting help from the government or they will leave Puerto Rico for anther place, she says. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Julia Rivera lost part of her house and the school where she normally has a job has been damaged. She said she is thinking about moving off the island.
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS -A cross hangs from a wall that remains of Luis Cosme's house, destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Luis, a worker at a cleaning company, felt the high winds and ran to the shelter at the Catholic church building. In the morning he came out and saw his house gone. "Thank God I am alive" he said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- A man carries his son on his shoulders between as he wades a river in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Because of the strength of Hurricane Maria, the bridge that communicates the neighborhood with the town was washed away, leaving San Lorenzo partly incommunicated from the rest of the town. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Salvador Sortre Vazquez , center, and his brother Angel Luis walk on the mountain in direction in what is left of their house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Ramon is a cancer patient and they do not have water or electricity. (AP Photo / Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Yadira Sortre and William Fontan Quintero clean their house, destroyed by Hurricane Maria in in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. "We lost everything." Fontan said. They have three children, one lives in Chicago and two live with them in Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
CORRECTS FROM SAN LAZARO TO SAN LORENZO AND MORAVIS TO MOROVIS -The foundations of a heavily damaged house stand the mountains after the passing of Hurricane Maria in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. FEMA chief Brock Long said the agency has worked to fix roads, establish emergency power and deliver fuel to hospitals. He said telecommunications are available to about one-third of the island. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)