Blue tarps are draped over thousands of homes, structures in need of repair still dot the island, and power outages remain persistent. As Hurricane Fiona bore down on Puerto Rico this week, residents of the U.S. territory in the Caribbean didn’t have to look far for reminders of the last great storm to hit the area, exactly five years ago. The deadliest natural disaster in Puerto Rico in 100 years, Hurricane Maria killed roughly 3,000 people and destroyed the electrical system. Though Fiona made landfall as a Category 1 storm, the damage it wrought even before it struck – including the loss of power and potable water – was a grim reminder of why, for many of the island’s residents, Maria marked a distinct before and after in their lives. For many Puerto Ricans, the blackout that accompanied Fiona brought back memories of the dark months after Hurricane Maria hit on Sept. 20, 2017, as a Category 4 storm. It took almost a year to completely restore power across the island, and the blackout would become the largest in U.S. history and second-largest in the world, according to the Rhodium Group, a policy analysis firm. Visit the link in bio to read more. Reposted from @usatoday #usa #newyok #fionia https://www.instagram.com/p/Ciy6etUpD6G/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=