Food and water distribution continues in Naguabo

Photo By Sgt. Michael Broughey | CEIBA, Puerto Rico — The volunteers at the Lion's Club in Naguabo distribute food and water supplied from Ceiba every Monday and Thursday despite the lack of electricity Nov. 2. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Broughey)  

NAGUABO, PUERTO RICO

11.02.2017

Story by Sgt. Michael Broughey 

65th Theater Public Affairs Support Element

Naguabo, Puerto Rico – A group of local volunteers continue relief efforts in the municipality of Naguabo. Every Monday and Thursday the Lion's Club of Naguabo becomes a food distribution center, despite operating without electricity.

Naguabo experienced heavy wind damage caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria in late September.

"We have 10,651 units total of food and water," said Wilson Tolentino, the director of the operations here at the Lion's Club, as he proudly held up a sheet of paper with the total number counted.

Cars lined the street for more than a mile leading up to the Lion's Club building. Before the line of cars started moving, people could be seen getting out of their cars to chat with their neighbors.

"People will wait for two hours," said Misael Alvarez, a volunteer and longtime resident of Naguabo, "We also will go door-to-door for people who can't come and wait."

Alvarez said that the survivors drive a long way due to impassible road conditions. Landslides and erosion in the mountains of El Yunuque National Forest have made travel difficult.

Up until this week, the volunteers were forced to move pallets upon pallets of supplies without a forklift. The volunteers worked out a system where they would load up their own vans and trucks with food and water, and park them against the sidewalk. Cars would drive up to be filled with boxes of emergency food rations and bottled water.

This week, a forklift owned by local government finally became available for their use. The addition greatly eases and speeds up distribution.

While the majority of survivors drive up to the distribution. Pedestrians also walk up to the building and wait in a separate line to carry food and water back to their homes in the congested part of the municipality.


Staff Sgt. Luis Cabrera, a member of the Puerto Rico State Guard, a volunteer militia, stands in the street beside the vans of food and directs traffic while cars pull out of the line with their goods in tow.
The food and water, delivered by a local transportation company in partnership with the Lion's Club, comes from the Puerto Rico National Guard in Ceiba, a nearby municipality, said Cabrera.
"We think the power may come back tomorrow or the next day," said Alvarez, who then pointed to a telephone pole with the top half bent horizontally like a straw with the telephone lines still connected, holding it in place, "but I'm just not sure."

• Date Taken: 11.02.2017
• Date Posted: 11.03.2017 19:35
• Story ID: 254084
• Location: NAGUABO, PR