Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Elesia Patten | ARABIAN GULF (Oct. 10, 2017) Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Josue...... read more read more
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The strongest hurricane Puerto Rico has seen in 80 years ripped through the island causing mass destruction, Sept. 20. Hurricane Maria shredded the island with the force of up to 155-mph winds and a torrential downfall rating the hurricane Category 4.
Hurricane Maria, responsible for destroying hundreds of homes, knocking out power on the island and causing substantial flooding, is the third major weather system to hit the Americas in the past month.
For many Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) the storm hit close to home, but for one Nimitz Sailor it literally hit home.
Three weeks ago, as Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Josue Cordero-Fernandez worked in the jet shop aboard the Navy’s oldest active aircraft carrier, Hurricane Maria was gaining momentum, churning in the Atlantic Ocean and barreling toward Puerto Rico. After getting wind that the category 4 hurricane was projected to hit his homeland, Cordero-Fernandez contacted his family back in Quebradillas -- a small rural town located on the North West shore of Puerto Rico. Confident that the storm would miss as many storms had done in the past, his experiences kept him from worrying. But as the storm grew closer to Puerto Rico, Cordero-Fernandez fears grew and he agonized in his rack, unable to sleep for almost a week.
“I lost contact with them the night before it actually hit because communications started going down,” said Cordero-Fernandez. “The next day when I started seeing pictures, I felt so useless in that moment because I knew I couldn’t do anything. I’m here on deployment.”
Over the next few days, Cordero-Fernandez tried over and over to contact his family but was unable to establish communication with them. He kept his eyes glued to the TV and computer in his shop, listening and reading reports about the state of Puerto Rico.
“Seeing so much devastation around the island and not be able to get a hold of them, I was just thinking the worst,” said Cordero-Fernandez. “There’s no way I can send money because I don’t have their bank information, can’t call them, can’t do anything.”
Cordero-Fernandez said in one report he read the Lake Guajataca dam was about to collapse resulting in an emergency evacuation. He said Lake Guajataca is significant to him because it connects three major towns: Isabela, San Sebastian, and Quebradillas.
“That was one of my biggest fears,” said Cordero-Fernandez. “They had to evacuate around 70,000 people in case the dam collapsed. Even though my family lives far away from it, if the collapse happened, I knew they would not have water services for months.”
Most all services on the hurricane-ravaged island were down immediately following the storm. Unable to physically go to the aid of his family, Cordero-Fernandez wanted to find a way to help.
So that’s what he did. Cordero-Fernandez got online and began buying essentials like food and water for his mother, siblings, and nephew in Quebradillas.
“My first reaction, my first thought was, I have to make sure they have food,” he said. “Even though I don’t know anything about what’s happening with my family, I’m just going to start buying food and water and sending it back home.”
Communications services were also extremely limited as Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s energy grid, leaving nearly 3.5 million people without power according to multiple news sources. Fortunately some phone and internet companies had service and offered free hotspots to help people reach their loved ones.
After nearly a week of tormenting thoughts, desperately checking Facebook, and frantically calling home, Cordero-Fernandez said he got good news from his family.
“I finally heard from them through Facebook,” said Cordero-Fernandez. “It took me around five days to get a hold of them. It was the greatest feeling ever. I felt relief knowing they were ok, that they didn’t suffer any property damage, and they were alive, which was the most important thing.”
The island began receiving first aid and support from several organizations shortly after the storm hit, including the Federal Emergency Management System and the U.S. Navy.
“I feel good that the Navy is providing the help we need,” said Cordero-Fernandez. “Within the first week Navy vessels were sent to my island to help out, I think that was a good thing.”
Oct. 3, less than two weeks after the storm first devastated the island, the Mercy-class Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived in Puerto Rico with more than 800 embarked Sailors to provide humanitarian support.
Puerto Rico’s 4.1 million-strong population has been deeply affected by the hurricane but its reach stretches much farther across the globe to people like Cordero-Fernandez, who left the island but still considers it home.
Nimitz is the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 11 and is currently deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations designed to reassure allies and partners, and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region.
For more news from Nimitz, visit www.nimitz.navy.mil.
For more news from Carrier Strike Group 11, visit www.facebook.com/carrierstrikegroupeleven
| Date Taken: | 10.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.17.2017 07:26 |
| Story ID: | 251868 |
| Location: | U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY |
| Hometown: | QUEBRADILLAS, PR |
| Web Views: | 128 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Hurricane Maria Hits Home for Nimitz Sailor, by PO2 Elesia Patten, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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