Hurricane Maria

HUD says it is releasing more than $8 billion in aid to Puerto Rico. The deadline to do so was in September. The aid is for rebuilding after devastating Hurricanes Maria and Irma struck in 2017.

Maria was the rainiest storm known to have hit Puerto Rico. Scientists say a storm of such severity is nearly five times more likely to occur today, with warmer air and ocean water, than in the '50s.

Approving money for areas devastated by floods, hurricanes or other disasters usually gets bipartisan votes. But President Trump's opposition to sending more money to Puerto Rico stalled the effort.

Island officials will have discretion to spend the federal money as they see fit. But some worry the government's plans will leave local communities behind.

It’s been nearly a year since Kritzia Basmeson resettled to Cleveland after Hurricane Maria. She lives with her three children on the west side of Cleveland above a hair salon where she works part-time. But adjusting to a new city remains difficult, partly because she still worries about her family back in Puerto Rico. "We all have a little piece over there," Basmeson said, "one little piece over there that we left. And it’s heartbreaking."

A year ago today Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, devastating the already fragile infrastructure of the island, and, according to researchers, led to some 3,000 deaths. Northeast Ohio’s robust Puerto Rican community mobilized in the days after the storm, gathering aid at the west side Cleveland San Lorenzo Club. Angelo Ortiz helped organize the effort at the time.

Puerto Rico's governor updated the island's official death toll from 64 on Tuesday after the long-awaited study, based on access to government mortality data and death certificates, was released.

Internal documents show FEMA failed to get enough supplies to Puerto Rico before the storm and then scrambled to supply them after. Democrats in Congress call for an independent commission.

The death rate is a contentious subject, in part because federal and island governments haven't responded as rapidly to the disaster as they have in other hurricane emergencies.

After a devastating 2017 hurricane season, the Atlantic isn't likely to get a break this year, NOAA says. The agency predicts 10 to 16 named storms this season, including up to four major hurricanes.