News — Puerto Rico

CAITLIN DICKERSON OCT. 12, 2017 SAN JUAN, P.R. — After a day spent working in an office in the dark, without air-conditioning, Iris Díaz arrived at her neighborhood CVS drugstore desperate for what has quickly become one of the most sought-after items in Puerto Rico: bottled water. A sales clerk standing behind the checkout counter explained that the store had been out of stock for three days. “Ni una sola botellita?” Ms. Díaz pleaded in Spanish. “Not even one little bottle?” The employee shook her head and apologized. Three weeks after Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico, the challenge of finding enough water...