Rebuilding Puerto Rico:

Transcription

1 KEEPING YOU IN THE KNOW Rebuilding Puerto Rico: The Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María By Lynnette Alicea León, E.I.T. This image shows a collapsed bridge in Road PR-634 km 11.7, Morovis, Puerto Rico. Two out of four spans were found, approximately, 185 meters from their original location; another span was found 350 meters downstream. One column was located 310 meters downstream, and the other five were not found. 22 July 2018 ite journal

2 The Enchanted Island, Puerto Rico! It is a beautiful island (in reality, it is a small archipelago), located in the Caribbean. It is a Commonwealth, a territory of the United States, with 3, square miles of land. The beauty of Puerto Rico and warmth of its people are evident through the Island s diverse ecosystems from green mountains in the center hills to clear beaches along the coasts and the unlimited historical, social, and gastronomic experiences that residents and visitors alike enjoy. Puerto Rico is divided into 78 municipalities, including two municipal islands, Vieques and Culebra. According to the U.S. Census estimates for July 2017, the population was 3.34 million before the Island was affected in September 2017 by hurricanes Irma and María, the worst hurricane in Puerto Rico s modern history. shutterstock/gary Ives José Márquez, CSA Group, LLP July

3 Joangelli González, CSA Group, LLP Collapsed road due to large amounts of debris accumulated in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Background on Transportation in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico s transportation infrastructure is composed of 8 active airports out of the 16 on the island, 5 seaports, and 16,694 miles of paved roadways. In addition, the San Juan Metropolitan Area (SJMA) has a heavy rail urban train ( Tren Urbano ) and two bus transit systems, AMA and Metrobus (public and private, respectively) to serve the most densely-populated region in Puerto Rico. Also, the publicos have provided most of the public transit in the island, especially for the municipalities located outside of the SJMA since they are the only public system available. Taxis serve travelers around the island, and the newly private transit systems such as Uber, Pink, and others, are serving mainly the SJMA and other limited regions (i.e., Mayagüez). The transportation engineering and planning professionals in Puerto Rico have been well aware of and engaged with the Island s transportation challenges, long before hurricanes Irma and María changed the landscape. The ITE-Puerto Rico Section was founded with the main objective of promoting networking between transportation professionals in Puerto Rico and the United States. Today, the ITE-Puerto Rico Section has 38 members and two student chapters: University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) and Polytechnic University. In addition, more than 120 professionals participate in the local activities such as the Spring Meeting, Annual Meeting, Seminars in the Transportation Module of the Mega Viernes Civil (a collaboration of the ITE-PR Section with the PR Institute of Civil Engineers), and other seminars. In addition, the ITE-Puerto Rico Section board members actively represent the Island s transportation professionals in public views, on specific transportation committees (Long Range Transportation Plan, Strategic Highway Safety Plan, etc.), and at ITE international meetings and events. The ITE-Puerto Rico Section, together with the Puerto Rico College of Engineers and Land Surveyors and other professional organizations, is now at the forefront of the Island s recovery and rebuilding efforts. Impact of Hurricanes Irma and María Everyone s world in Puerto Rico changed in September 2017, when the two back-to-back hurricanes Irma and María affected this beautiful island and the lives of our generous and happy people. Experiencing the forces of hurricane María is nearly impossible to describe: frightening sounds from landslides, breaking trees, flying things, water flow, and the wind alone!!! And, not to mention the amount of people who experienced the forces of these hurricanes while in a delicate position: sick people, the elderly, infants, and people living in vulnerable homes, etc. While most people affected by Irma recovered their electricity relatively fast, none of us recovered electric power after María for many weeks, even in the best circumstances. Still now, eight months later, there continue to 24 July 2018 ite journal

4 These pictures, shared by Eng. Josué Cruz, ITS Program Manager from the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority (PRHTA), show how the intelligent transportation system (ITS) equipment was affected by hurricane María and the current status, which is the reason the Traffic Management Center (TMC) is not operating to its full capacity. Since the ITS system still has no communication with the TMC, PRHTA does not know the full extent of the damage to the whole ITS system (CCTV, vehicle detectors, etc.). PRHTA s current priority is to restore the traffic signals. be more than 50,000 people without electric power! Another difficult and unexpected experience for people during María was the lack of communications. 1 The entire island was cut off from communication through cellphones, the internet, and telephones; the only form of communication available was through the one-and-only radio station. In the first days following María, the radio station was sharing government information from public officials visiting the station. As communications to the exterior parts of the Island became available, the available radio stations started sharing calls from desperate families in the United States and other countries. Just imagine not having any contact with your loved ones and receiving media information about the devastation on the Island, with no airports, no flights, no text messages, no internet calls, nothing! Locals had each other, but our loved ones in the exterior of the Island who could not reach them were going crazy! Locals were the first responders through their communities; neighbors took leadership in removing debris, clearing clogged drainage structures, and supporting each other physically and emotionally. The extent of the damages caused by these hurricanes is still evident, especially in the housing, health, and highway infrastructure. 2,3 The transportation infrastructure received damage in several ways. The number of collapsed bridges (29), approach slabs (40), and landslides (more than 40,000) affected the transportation of emergency relief support, water, fuel, and other essential goods. 4 At the Joint ITE International and Midwestern/Great Lakes Districts Annual Meeting and Exhibit, there will be the following session on August 22, 2018 in Minneapolis, MN, USA: You Can Plan for It, But...Lessons Learned from Disaster Response and Event Management Transportation departments are faced with planning and implementing traffic control strategies for special events in coordination with public safety agencies. The scale and scope of these can be relatively predictable, but other times, no amount of planning seems to be enough for a large scale emergency. Hear perspectives and post event evaluation of successes and opportunities to improve. The Impact to the Transportation Infrastructure in Puerto Rico Due to the Direct Impact of Hurricane Maria: Lessons Learned Presented by Benjamin Colucci-Rios, Ph.D., Director, Puerto Rico LTAP, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and past president of the ITE-Puerto Rico Section Look for follow-up articles on this topic in upcoming issues of ITE Journal that will include highlights from this session as well as ongoing updates on Puerto Rico s hurricane recovery efforts. learn more July

5 Wilfredo Cordero, CSA Architects and Engineers, LLP This photo shows the current state of a road in Caguas, Puerto Rico. This was largely because of the heavy rains Puerto Rico received: 10 to 15 inches during Irma and 23 to 38 inches during María, and only two weeks apart. The other impact to the infrastructure was associated with the landslides, causing the closure of several roads, including freeways as well as primary, secondary, and tertiary roads. Combining the lack of accesses with the electricity and communication black-out was a very stressful situation, especially during rainy events in rural highways and along coastal streets. My thoughts after eight months from hurricane María are summarized into three main categories: the importance of strong community outreach, the need for education about the importance of building codes, and back-to-basics as a redundancy approach in a technology-dependent culture. Importance of Strong Community Outreach During hurricanes Irma and María, the most organized communities have demonstrated to be in a better place than others, regardless of their social level. This is because these communities had plans on how to manage disasters. One way to strengthen community outreach is to promote the development of emergency management plans among communities. This would help to make people aware of their community needs and methods in case of a natural disaster or other emergencies (i.e., fires, medical emergencies). For example, communities could perform a census by category (disabled people, children, elderly, doctors, construction workers, etc.) and simple maps of the location of these people. In addition, communities could prepare escape routes, siren systems, and shelters, among other things. Having a community plan, in coordination to the state plans, could be the key for surviving a natural disaster, and the aftermath. Need for Education about the Importance of Building Codes Illegal construction was an important factor in losing more than 250,000 homes in Puerto Rico due to hurricanes Irma and María, according to local news outlets. The application of new construction codes is an important factor too, and limiting the granting for permits in high-risk areas could reduce the number of people affected by coastal erosion, cyclonic storm surge, landslides, and flooding that results in losing homes. Avoiding construction in high-risk areas and encouraging residents from these zones (which includes the coasts, areas susceptible to landslides, and flood areas) to move to safer areas permanently is a challenge. The Puerto Rico College of Engineers and Land Surveyors (CIAPR, its acronym in Spanish) has immediately taken a leadership role in this area after hurricane María. Back-to-basics as a Redundancy Approach in a Technology-dependent Culture Experiencing months without electric power, lack of replacement materials in the chain-of-supplies, and limitations in the amounts of available contractors to perform the recovery efforts are only some examples of the importance of having redundancy in basic traffic operations and other transportation needs, such as pedestrian facilities and transit systems. Experiencing triple traveling times during the first three months after María made me rethink about the need for having other types of traffic controls 26 July 2018 ite journal

6 Joangelli González, CSA Group, LLP A landslide on road PR-157 near Km 14.7 in Orocovis, Puerto Rico. available for the island (since most of our intersections have traffic signals). A redundancy approach in a technology-dependent culture means to be less dependent on technology in high-risk areas where there are intersections, high-speed corridors, and school zones. The same applies to transit operations and pedestrians safety. Reflections Finally, as an ITE member I have never imagined how ITE could change my life. As a member of the ITE-PR Section I would like to give special thanks to Shawn Leight, Past President of ITE International. The ITE-PR Section s Annual Technical Meeting 2017 was cancelled due to these hurricanes, and Shawn had planned to visit us for that event. He looked forward to getting in contact with the members of the local board. In our situation, knowing that he was interested and committed to helping us, was very refreshing. He organized a GoFundMe account to support the recovery through Mi Casa Resistente, a non-profit foundation of the Puerto Rico College of Engineers and Land Surveyors to build eco-friendly and economic houses in the island ( Shawn visited us in April 2018, and his visit was just extraordinary: his presentations, interest in knowing the real impacts of the hurricanes, observations of the recovery efforts, among many other sharing experiences, brought us the support that we needed. Receiving this kind of support made real changes in how members like me see ITE as an organization. Knowing that, even physically apart, we are close to ITE International has motivated me as a professional in the transportation engineering field. itej References 1. Status Puerto Rico website. Accessed June 18, Pasch, Richard, et al. National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Maria. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: April 10, Cangialosi, John P., et al. National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Irma. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: May 30, Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority, Bridge Inspection Office. Lynnette Alicea León, E.I.T. has a master of science degree in civil engineering (MSCE) from the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus, specializing in transportation. She has more than 14 years of experience in the transportation engineering field, mainly designing pavement rehabilitation and highway safety improvement projects. In addition, she has experience as a project manager for highway designs and contributed in the development of the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority Work Zone Safety Final Rule. Currently, she is one of the transportation engineers and technical leaders in CSA Architects and Engineers, LLP. As a consultant, her most valuable project has been the development and implementation of the Puerto Rico Strategic Highway Safety Plan for the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority. Lynnette is a proud ITE member since 2002 and current vice-president of the ITE-Puerto Rico Section. July