We need rain, but not a hurricane

This was written for The Seedling, the newsletter of The Uproot Project. It was published on August 5, 2026. Lee la versión en español aquí.

“Hace falta un huracán”, “We need a hurricane”, I overheard a few days ago. I think “We need rain” would be more appropriate. Puerto Rico is now experiencing a meteorological drought. Around 60% of our lands are under drought conditions, and it may get worse. I should be writing to you about hurricanes, but the increasing dry conditions that we are experiencing make it hard to focus on that subject.

We are islands dependent on rainwater to quench our thirsts and to farm our lands. Rain is critical for maintaining soil health and for replenishing the rivers that feed our reservoirs. Some municipalities are on alert because of possible water rationing. Hundreds of families have already experienced several months without water. Turning on my faucet and not seeing water come out makes it hard to write about hurricanes. Nevertheless, they are intertwined. 

Last week, I wrote about (un)natural disasters from my family’s house in Juana Díaz. When I drive south from San Juan, I take the 52 highway that slithers through the high mountains of Cayey. There is a curve from where you can look out and enjoy the beautiful southern landscape below the mountains. Heading to my family’s house last week, I looked out to see dry, thirsty land with a dense dust cloud dancing with the ashes of the wildfires. It is normal to have a dry season during this time. But climate change, coupled with El Niño conditions, has exacerbated the season. 

This points to what I wrote to you in the last newsletter: there are no natural disasters. I think that when it comes to water, the public here is aware of the government’s neglect towards maintaining the reservoirs’ capacities. They are also aware that the poor maintenance of infrastructure leads to Puerto Rico losing half of its potable water before flowing out of my home’s faucet. When discussing drought in the media, even in governmental spaces (or as that person whose comment I overheard), I do not see people referring to it as a “natural disaster”.

Why then, when it comes to hurricanes here, is it so different? I’m curious if other environmental journalists see different relationships around the understanding of different natural hazards, or discussing the disasters that follow them. I wonder if this situation will broaden the language we use on hurricanes. I definitely don’t want a hurricane to come, but I do want rain. I want it to replenish rivers with forested basins, flowing into well-maintained reservoirs, and delivered through well-maintained pipes into my faucet.