The Island Next Door

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Passengers from a direct flight from Bradley International Airport wait to pick up their checked baggage -- much of it cardboard boxes full of supplies -- in the San Juan Airport on October 16, 2017.

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On the road near the Punta Santiago barrio in Humacao, Puerto Rico.

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The first two cruise ships to pass through Puerto Rico since the hurricane stopped in Viejo San Juan. Thousands of tourists, some hesitant, poured in -- filling streets that were previously empty.

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Children in the mountain town of Orocovis returned to school two weeks ago after a two-month pause following Hurricane Maria. The school doesn't have electricity, so it lets out at 12:30 p.m.

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Jose Ayala lives in Villa del Rey, a housing development in Caguas. He said the small bag of supplies delivered by Luis Cotto were the first aid he's seen since the hurricane hit four weeks before.

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Guillermo Class reunites with his two sons in the San Juan Airport. He sold his car to fly them back to Hartford.

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A team of 海角换妻 veterans and volunteers -- self-described as the Puerto Rican "water dogs" -- pumps water from a river in Salinas, Puerto Rico through a mobile filtration and purification system for residents there to drink.

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Residents of Humacao take shelter from the sun under an umbrella. They say they've been in need of clean water since the hurricane.

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A woman left homeless in Maricao, Puerto Rico after the storm holds her dog. Her son said she hadn鈥檛 let go of her dog since the storm it.

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Children play a game in a schoolyard in the mountain town of Orocovis, Puerto Rico.

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Damaged houses in Salinas, Puerto Rico.

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Residents of Salinas wait for the water to be filtered and purified. They lined up in the rain with water jugs and buckets as the news of clean water spreads throughout the town by word of mouth.

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A large pile of brush and debris in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Volunteers from 海角换妻 traveled there to purify and filter water from the river for the town's residents.

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At the Casa Hist贸rica de la M煤sica Cayeyana 鈥� a non-profit house of music in Cayey 鈥� people come together on the weekends to sing, dance, and recite poetry.

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Former Hartford City Councilman Luis Cotto speaks to a woman through her front gate in Cidra -- his family's hometown. He was there handing out solar lamps and water filters in October.

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Aida Garcia, the grandmother of Hartford resident and city Board of Education Member Robert Cotto Jr, stands outside of her house.

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Children play a game in a schoolyard in the mountain town of Orocovis, Puerto Rico.

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Maria Castro, a community leader in Humacao, speaks to Angel Rodriguez. Residents here say they've been in need of clean water since the hurricane.

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Paloma Ortiz (left) is a nurse who鈥檚 been offering volunteer health care to residents of the Valle Hill neighborhood in Canovanas.

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Luis Edgardo Cotto hands out water filters and solar lamps in Caguas. Residents said these are the first supplies they've received since Maria hit.

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Alberto D铆az lives surrounded by cars. After Hurricane Maria鈥檚 floods, none of them work.

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Rosalina Abre煤 says this high peak in Humacao was a shaded paradise before Maria. She now serves hundreds of meals here for people in need.

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Remnants of a mudslide along along a mountain road on the west side of the island.

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Alicia Ortega, spends her days caring for her husband and hoping her floor -- soaked by Maria once her roof blew off -- doesn鈥檛 cave in.

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Veronica Montalvo fills up a water jug for a boy in Salinas, Puerto Rico.

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At the Casa Hist贸rica de la M煤sica Cayeyana 鈥� a non-profit house of music in Cayey 鈥� people come together on the weekends to sing, dance, and recite poetry.

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Houses in Humacao, Puerto Rico -- the part of the island where the hurricane first made landfall.

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Ron Spellman of Canton, 海角换妻 -- who鈥檚 served in the U.S. Coast Guard and now is in the Air Force Reserves, sets up a hose to pump water from a river in Salinas, Puerto Rico to a purifying tank. U.S. Army veteran Pablo Soto works the pump in the background.

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Trees stripped of foliage in the mountain town of Cidra on October 17, 2017.

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Made with a mix of yautia and green bananas that鈥檚 then stuffed with a stew of pork, chickpeas, almonds, and dates -- pasteles are then wrapped in leaves and boiled. And while the day鈥檚 product was intended to feed those who were helping in Puerto Rico, the process of making them had a purpose, too: to ease the collective trauma that Maria left behind.

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Frederico Segarra Camachu is 96 years old and lives in Mericao, Puerto Rico. He said that he never saw a storm like Hurricane Maria hit the island. His main concern is access to water: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 need electricity to fall asleep,鈥� he said.

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Former Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra looks across the mountain farmland in Maricao where his grandparents once lived, and where his family still does.

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Rosalina Abre煤 says this high peak in Humacao was a shaded paradise before Maria. She now serves hundreds of meals here for people in need.

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The free concerts at the Casa Hist贸rica de la M煤sica Cayeyana have had a special resonance after Hurricane Maria, as attendees find respite there on the weekends amid the recovery effort.

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The top of one of Humacao's highest mountain peaks, left barren by the storm.

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Alejandro La Luz Rivera returned to Puerto Rico after going to Pennsylvania because he didn't want to leave the home he and his wife built together.

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Blanca Ortiz-Torres is a psychologist and a professor at the University of Puerto Rico. She came with a team of doctors, nurses and psychologists to Maricao to provide medical care to people left homeless by the hurricane.

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Playa Punta Santiago in Humacao, Puerto Rico.

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A street in Maricao, one of the smallest towns in Puerto Rico.

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Ray Guasp served in the Marines. Now, in Puerto Rico, he鈥檚 part of a small group of self-deployed volunteers from 海角换妻.

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In Viejo San Juan, Con Edison utility trucks lined up along the street, helping transmit power to the island.

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Luis Colon (left), a taxi driver and a student in psychology speaks with a resident of Maricao, Puerto Rico (right). Colon said Hurricane Maria made it easier for Puerto Ricans to see more about themselves.

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Abigail Ruiz and her family broke into an abandoned school in Maricao, Puerto Rico when part of their home鈥檚 roof blew off during the hurricane. They now live there, and the rest of the school is being converted into a shelter.

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Maria Sanchez Cruz hadn鈥檛 even owned her roadside restaurant in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico for a year before getting hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The former Hartford resident lost thousands of dollars in spoiled food during Irma, and, for Maria, she gave it away before it turned.

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Angel Rodriguez in his San Juan apartment. He's been picking up packages delivered here from the mainland and delivering supplies to residents on the east side of the island.

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Abigail Ruiz stands with one of her sons in the shade of a covered basketball court in Maricao, Puerto Rico.

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Maria Sanchez Cruz hadn鈥檛 even owned her roadside restaurant in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico for a year before getting hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The former Hartford resident lost thousands of dollars in spoiled food during Irma, and, for Maria, she gave it away before it turned.

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The town of Maricao, Puerto Rico. Abigail Ruiz鈥檚 house (right) lost its roof during the hurricane. She moved with her family into an abandoned school in the town below.

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Pasteles are a holiday tradition for Ronnie Rodriguez, his wife Kathleen Squires, and their extended family in Puerto Rico. But, this year, Hurricane Maria forced some change. Rather than making food just for themselves, they decided to go big and make a few hundred pasteles as gifts for electrical workers from the mainland -- a sign of thanks.

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Paloma Ortiz (left) is a nurse who鈥檚 been offering volunteer health care to residents of the Valle Hill neighborhood in Canovanas.

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At the Casa Hist贸rica de la M煤sica Cayeyana 鈥� a non-profit house of music in Cayey 鈥� people come together on the weekends to sing, dance, and recite poetry.

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The after-school program in Orocovis, Puerto Rico includes gardening, arts, and outdoor play time.

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On one of Humacao's highest mountain peaks, a local organization has been handing out hundreds of free meals since the storm.

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The view from the top of one of Humacao's highest peaks.

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Former Hartford City Councilman Luis Cotto demonstrates how to set up an inflatable solar lamp to residents of Villa del Rey in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

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Danny Torres has worked for the fire department in Meriden, 海角换妻 for decades and has family across Puerto Rico. He joined a group of volunteers to bring clean water to residents across the island.

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