'Dignity of a Nation'- Contact with Puerto Rico eight days after hurricane Maria.

I have regular contact with a friend in Puerto Rico. Jack Sabados is a marine biologist (shark researcher) who is helping with animal rescues since hurricane Maria. Yesterday, volunteers were planning to move sheep and horses. Animals he has helped rescue include turtles and a Mantaray. 

Food and water is scarce...very scarce. Video footage this morning on Australian TV network ABC showed long queues in San Juan ( few blocks long) for fuel where residents were patiently waiting. They are only allowed to purchase $10 worth of fuel. The same is happening for access to a large bucket of water. Some island residents do have access to small flooded streams.

Food and solar equipment (solar lighting and solar generators) appear to be the most vital need. If anyone makes contact with Jack and wishes him to pass on a brief written message to overseas relatives, (any country) I will pass it on to them via the Australian Embassy . 

It was announced today that the only open port will now have access to foreign vessels for delivery of vital supplies FOR TEN DAYS.

The thing that has amazed me the most is the incredible resilience, patience and humility of a country that is suffering terrible grief... their existence has been shattered but the one thing they haven't lost is their lives and their dignity.

Deborah Quirke.
Western Australia

Rainwater collection in emergencies: How much water can you collect in small containers.

A tray of small glasses collected about half of a medium sized preserving jar full of rainwater after one hour (about 300 - 400 

I'd also put a bowl under ml), this morning. Six large containers collected a quarter of a standard sized bucket (around 1750 ml) over the same time period. However...

I'd also placed a wide bowl beneath a little drip from a clip in the middle of a small shed roof and this filled, allowing me to fill the blue bucket completely to the top. This then filled a 10 litre water container - enough for 40 glasses of water.

How to Collect Rainwater for domestic use in an Emergency.

If it is raining, water can be collected in the following containers:


Small scale, domestic water:

1. Buckets
2. Watering cans
3. Cooking pots and bowls of any size.
4. Large tins and jars (you may have to line tins with plastic). Thick coffee jars and mixing bowls, cups  and small containers can be emptied into a bucket if you don't have a lot of big containers.
5. Sealed plastic bags such as zip-lock bags-leave open and inside a container while collecting.
6. Large plastic containers that have been cleaned.
7. Children's swimming pools are perfect because they are wide and cover a larger area.
8. Empty cake tins lined with plastic (water can then be collected from the tin with a small cup).
9. Polystyrene containers ("Eskies", coolers, Kentucky Fried Chicken containers).
10. Plastic storage boxes (deep with wide surface area; can be covered quickly).
11. Old drawer lined with thick plastic.
12. Line up cups or jugs inside a suitcase or drawer.
13. Large plastic garden pots (as long as they have no drainage holes).
13. Water can then be poured into things like old lemonade bottles with a small jug, a plastic ironing jug, or a cut off plastic bottle.
14. Baked bean cans.

- get someone to check the water...birds will probably head straight for it. - As soon as you can, this should be stored somewhere cool .
- Cover the water (to prevent bird droppings, dust, small animals contaminating it, stop debris from trees and plants).
- If it is possible, and at the earliest, try and filter, boil, or chlorinate.
- Remember that mosquitos may lay larvae if left outside and uncovered. The water must then be discarded.


Rain water can be used for washing, flushing toilets, and watering but should be used while fresh, if possible. unsterilised water soon grows bacteria.

Larger Scale domestic water:

Large plastic or resin tanks can be open topped and placed on sturdy frames that water can be drained from a small tap at the bottom.

Large tanks , usually put in by professionals, can be installed to connect with gutters but should be carefully considered. moss, debris and overflow are a problem. 

Puerto Rico Crisis Imminent following Hurricane Maria.

Disaster Report 

by Deborah Quirke (Western Australia) and Jack Sabados (Puerto Rico).

Wednesday 27 September 2017. 03:30

The people are exhausted. They are worn. They are tired. They are getting hungry. The region has been devastated. Other than satellite communication, phone communication to the rest of the world is non-existent. As far as they are concerned, the world nearly came to an end and they have been left to clean up the mess with a few, worn garden tools. The rescue teams are made up of surviving citizens…some of them haven’t got a roof on their own homes to stop heaven from weeping on their beds. Its overcast and humid. To add to the misery, you can’t even flush your toilet until you can find water to fill it. 

Hurricane Maria smashed the Caribbean on the morning of Tuesday September 21st (Tuesday evening West Australian time) and she’s still blowing. 

The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) forecasts that Maria will continue northward, parallel to the U.S East coast for the next 36 hours.

With her, storm surges and flooding is expected. Rip current conditions and dangerous surf are predicted.

Chicago Tribune reporter, Ricardo Russell, writes “this is a national disaster”. This is an understatement.

The American Public Power Association’s ‘Update on help for hurricane - ravaged Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands’ states that Virgin Island crews and WesternArea Power Administration have been working to repair the power transmission system, having arrived on Monday and Wednesday at the Virgin Islands.

On Friday 22nd, the Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York accompanied 2 drone pilots with drones to film damage to assess the Puerto Rican power system so that measures can be taken to reinstate electricity to the devastated country.

Jeannine Anderson made a disaster report on the disaster response for the American Public Power Association. 

She quotes Mike Hyland on a conference call as stating, “It has been a struggle understanding exactly what is going on.” 

Before mutual aid workers can be sent in, they have to have “transport arrangements, housing, food and security.” 

Fuel supplies are exhausted. Housing has been demolished by Maria. Food is depleted. The country is about to be famished. There is hardly any way to acquire any food…it is becoming scarce. President Trump announced today that he is only planning to see and assess the damage in Puerto Rico  next week. 

The roads are not being cleared by teams of council workers, they are being cleared by the residents and their next-door neighbours.

Using a satellite-linked connection, I was able to ask 36 year old Puerto Rican resident, Jack Sabados, if he had water, knowing that the water supply had been cut off. We’d discussed solar cooking the night before.

“Have you got water?” I asked.

He responded, “Yes.”

I asked, “Running tap water or bottles”.

“Bottles, he replied.

I said, “You didn’t tell me.”

“Can I relay any messages for you to an ambassador or get a message to anyone that needs to contact family?”

silence

“How much food have you got?” I asked, concerned. 

“I have yet for four days,” 

Our Satellite-based internet connection got cut off.

Four Really Easy Meals suitable for Solar Cooking.

1. Sun beans.

Three Bean Mix (no-name brand three bean mix is usually less than a dollar).
Can of diced tomatoes (you can add fresh diced tomatoes).

Chopped onions.

Salt & Pepper.

Tsp honey (if you've got some).

Splash of sweet chilli sauce (or tiny bit of chopped chilli and garlic).

2. Chicken & Vegetables.

Diced chicken.
Diced potatoes.
Diced onions.
Grated carrots.
Sliced purple cabbage.
Sliced green cabbage.
Splash of Cambell's stock or a splash of water (vegetable juice or Bovril & water will work also)
Salt & pepper.
(The chicken will be pale when cooked in a solar oven)

3. Chopped veggies.

Diced potatoes (small pieces cook better)
Chopped carrots.

Diced onions.

Large splash of water

Tbsp of oil (if you've got some).

4. Tuna & potatoes.

Canned tuna
Diced potatoes
Grated cheese 
(A couple of pineapple pieces can be added to this)


Ready to go. All you need now is sunlight and a solar oven. The amount of food required will depend on the size of your containers , your oven, and the availability of ingredients. The sun will do the rest.

How to Make a Cheap and Simple Solar Oven.

Solar oven on 'Stand-by'.

This cost me less than $2 to make. Everything used to make the solar oven were items for the recycling bin. Tin Foil was the only item I needed to purchase.

What you need:

One large box.

One smaller box (they can be either wood or cardboard).

Any insulation material (this can be polystyrene, straw, news papers, cloth, tee-shirt material, blanket).

Tin foil or reflective silver material.
Sheet of glass (glass pieces from a clip frame at Ikea have bevelled edges). If broken glass is used in an emergency situation, try and tape the edges with masking tape to avoid injury.

Mirror (if you've got one).

I put in a small cooking rack to elevate the containers (increases the surface area exposed to solar energy). A brick (which retains heat) or a few flat stones will do the same. This will be useful in windy weather. 

Instructions to make solar oven:

Line larger box with insulation material (in this case polystyrene and straw).

Place the second box inside the large box.

Line the container with tinfoil or silver reflective paper.

Tape the edges box flaps (also covered in foil) together so they also act as energy selectors and gives you a deeper box.

You can lean a mirror against the box, directing light in but care must be taken to place solar oven onto brick, stone or sand to avoid an accidental fire.

Place a metal rack inside to elevate food containers.
Oven is now ready to place in a sunny spot.

Cooking containers suitable for solar cooking:

Dark glass containers.
Pyrex containers with lids.
Pyrex bowls with sealed plastic bag to cover.
Metal containers with glass lids.
Glass preserving jars with lids.
Glass microwave containers with lids.

"Kiss of a Hurricane": Interview with Jack Sabados in Puerto Rico, following Hurricane Maria. September 2017.

Sunday 24 th September 2017. West Australian time - 21:50

"The sound...the noise...describe the sound when you were inside the storm," I asked.

The storm had sucked air and water through the drains as it passed over Puerto Rico. It hit like a  jack-hammer thrown inside a giant concrete mixer. Newspapers, television and radio services are slowly resuming. Communication is finally beginning to return to a place that was battered around like a helpless vegetable in a demonic soup mixer of gargantuan proportions. Five days after the storm, I managed to catch up with marine biologist Jack Sabados and ask to interview him. Researcher Jack Sabados has a background studying whales and is currently conducting shark research. He is based in the Caribbean, in Puerto Rico.

 “ 'Borinquen’ is a word tiana. It refers to Puerto Rico. I am Puerto Rican and Boricua” he tells me. Incidentally, when translated, ‘Borinquen’ means “Land of the Valiant Lord”.

After harrowing reports of residents reporting large numbers of dead birds found near the coast of San Juan, I asked,”Were many animals injured? Did  birds inland survive?”

Sabados, who has been involved in checking animals that have survived the hurricane, replied, "The birds are ready…are the first to flee. The problem is the domestic animals.” 

Still stunned by the storm, when asked if the schools remain open, he replied, “They are not yet closed.”

I asked how his house was.

“Luckily, my house is quite good. Some damage in the interior because of the water,” he explains.

His garden was ripped up from its roots and thrown back upside down. What remained of it was drowning in deep, thick mud.

“The force of the wind is so strong that even when the windows are protected to match the force of the wind, they manage to break with the force of the tree’s branches or by the trees themselves hitting walls and ceilings,” he said. “The wind picks up the trees from the ground and hits the houses in the rain…then we sneak through our houses quietly and watch as the water starts to rise.”

I asked Sabados to tell me about the day Hurricane Maria hit them in Puerto Rico. He was 20 kilometres from the coast.

“After the hurricane, well chaos...flooded streets, Arracandos trees, destroyed homes, cars over-turned and destroyed…lack of food…without electricity…without gas to make food” he stated simply.

 “Before a hurricane, everyone prepares…block doors and windows to prevent the wind and rain from breaking glass. The electricity goes away…there is no rain at first…then strong winds…strong winds. Then the sun rises and the houses begin to flood. The trees are destroyed. Cars are washed away.”

“Do you mind if I ask…have many people lost their homes?” I said.

“Yes, there are people who have lost everything. There are people who are still in shelters and cannot return to their half destroyed homes,” he answered. 

Cut-throat water rations put in place yesterday mean that fresh, running water is now only available for two hours every day for washing and cooking and basic human needs. 

I said ,“You're up early. I’d like to ask you some questions. How do you say ‘Borinquen?” I asked. 

“I needed a cup of coffee and to shower, “ he replied stoically.“ I’ve been working all night”. 

The overnight dusk to dawn curfew has just been extended and the power was still out. A skilled marine biologist, Sabados was helping rescue animals and pets until the coast was clear. Volunteers were clearing the roads.

I asked, “Is normal transport running in most places yet…public transport? Are you able to purchase supples?”

“There are only minimal services, because the thing is still quite complicated…just basic services…” he responded.

“Shops?” I asked.

“Just the basic ones. They try to have it open so that people can buy but only the basic thing (food)… try to return to the normality” he answered.

He never mentioned the sewerage systems which were now going to have to be cleared without the presence of running water. Nor did he mention how he was going to wash his clothes in the stinking, tropical heat without power or water. There appear to have been no public requests from the American government for international assistance.

Hurricane Maria was a bitch of a storm. She’s ripped the guts out of a country that was already struggling. Maria came when the Boricua were down and kicked them in the teeth then left them bleeding in their own mud with the rocks she threw from the sea.

After refusing to answer if his windows were broken, Jack Sabados…a man who considers himself an educated, cultured  American marine scientist managed to sum up the situation in four simple words, “Trump has forgotten us.”

Deborah Quirke.
Perth, Western Australia.