Introduction / Background
• • Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017.
• • Infrastructure collapsed; over 4,600 lives
lost.
• • The disaster exposed colonial inequality,
climate vulnerability, and political neglect.
Stakeholders
• • Affected Communities: rural, poor, medically
underserved.
• • Government Entities: FEMA, U.S. federal
government.
• • Health Workers: emergency responders,
hospital staff.
• • NGOs: Casa Pueblo, community aid groups.
• • Researchers: Kishore, Spagat, van Weezel.
Primary Claim and Evidence
• Claim: Hurricane Maria's devastation was
intensified by environmental injustice.
• • García-López (2018): Colonialism and
austerity policies worsened infrastructure.
• • Kishore et al. (2018): Over 4,600 excess
deaths due to delayed aid.
• • Rodríguez-Madera et al. (2021): Health
system collapse.
Counterclaim and Evidence
• Counterclaim: The disaster was too large for
any institution to handle effectively.
• • Hurricane Maria was a Category 4 storm
with massive geographical impact.
• • Infrastructure damage was widespread
regardless of policy.
Rebuttal and Supporting Evidence
• • Zorrilla (2017): Faster aid in Texas and
Florida after similar disasters.
• • Spagat & van Weezel (2020): Underreporting
of hurricane deaths.
• • Bolaños-Rosero et al. (2023): Mold-related
health issues in underserved homes.
Conclusion and Solutions
• • Hurricane Maria reveals deep structural
injustices.
• • Future solutions:
• - Invest in sustainable infrastructure.
• - Empower local governance.
• - Implement equitable, decolonial recovery
plans.
Works Cited
• García-López (2018), Kishore et al. (2018),
Rodríguez-Madera et al. (2021),
• Zorrilla (2017), Spagat & van Weezel (2020),
Rodríguez-Díaz (2018),
• Keellings & Hernández Ayala (2019), BolañosRosero et al. (2023)