Best views, weather, etc. How to test them 👓 SC, Ala. sites look back Betty Ford honored
Puerto Rico

In Comerío, Puerto Rico, Hurricane Fiona has left people without water, food and medicine: 'We are not OK'

The residents of one Puerto Rican town south of the capital of San Juan are assessing Hurricane Fiona's impact while struggling to cope with the loss of "some very precious things."

Kevin Crowe
USA TODAY

COMERÍO, Puerto Rico — Maria de Jesus Medina stands in her nightgown and looks across at her soaked belongings – a couch and loveseat, a television stand, two bedroom sets, a stove, a refrigerator, clothes and boxes of personal items – all destroyed by a hurricane.

For the second time in five years.

When torrential rains poured down on this center-eastern region of Puerto Rico this week, a nearby river and creek flooded rapidly, sending muddy water into Medina's first-floor apartment and those of her neighbors.

"I lost a lot of belongings, some very precious things," Medina, 83, told USA TODAY in Spanish on Wednesday. "Almost all of our food has spoiled."