The Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center was asked to develop a poststorm recovery plan for Puerto Rico. This report describes the transportation sector, including prestorm conditions, damage, repair cost estimates, and courses of action.

Authors assess Puerto Rico's communications and information technology sector needs after damage caused during the 2017 hurricanes and present courses of action that will help the sector recover and move forward in a sustainable and resilient manner.

Puerto Rico's housing sector needs a big fix. Through a careful analysis of housing damage caused by the 2017 hurricanes, the authors make informed recovery recommendations for policymakers so they can repair and rebuild safe and affordable housing.

This book deals with the immediate effects of, and response to, Hurricane María on the social, ecological, and technological systems (SETS) of Puerto Rico. The SETS approach to analyzing hurricane effects places into historical context the role of social and technological factors, and compares social and ecological resilience on the same temporal scales. Written from the perspective of a Puerto Rican scientist who experienced Maria's wrath first-hand, the book uses extensive empirical knowledge of the ecological effects of hurricanes on Caribbean forests and combines that knowledge with a detailed analysis of the effects of Hurricane María on the social and technological fabric of Puerto Rico. The comparison suggests that the effects of extreme events are dictated not only by the strength of the physical event, but also by the conditions of affected SETS at the time when the event exerts influence over them. Moreover, SETS have historical legacies that influence how resilient they can be when affected by an extreme event. Therefore, preparation and response to extreme events require an integrated social, ecological, and technological effort, known as the SETS response. The SETS response requires an understanding of the energetics of extreme events and their effects on the economy, which in turn determines social and technological resilience. Hurricane María demonstrated that the social and technological systems of Puerto Rico were not adapted to dealing with extreme events, in contrast with the ecological systems, which were. Hurricane María’s effect on Puerto Rico can be used as an example from which valuable lessons emerge for making SETS more adaptable and resilient to extreme events.

Out of the Whirlwind is a novel-like narrative report on how demand and supply networks in Puerto Rico responded to the impact of Hurricane Maria. Particular attention is given to water, food, and fuel. Both enterprise-level and individual decisions and their operational implications are described. This book highlights maritime supply chains between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico; local efforts to restore and surge grocery supplies; commercial flows of food and fuel; the impact of the FEMA relief effort; and several previously untold aspects of demand and supply interacting under severe duress. The narrative is based on extensive interviews with survivors and post-event economic and inventory data. The final chapter underscores key principles of network science and outlines strategic implications for catastrophe preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. A detailed research bibliography is provided. Supply chain managers are given insight into crisis management principles and practice. Emergency managers are able to look-inside as crucial private sector supply chains respond in real-time to disruption and destruction. Both private and public sector professionals are introduced to Network Science concepts that assist in diagnosis and prognosis of flows and failure-to-flow.

The authors detail the status of Puerto Rico's communities leading up to Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the storms' impact on them, and 15 courses of action to improve their capacity for emergency preparedness, communication, and recovery planning.

After Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused widespread destruction across the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, FEMA tasked the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) to work with the government of Puerto Rico, federal agencies, and other stakeholders to write a congressionally mandated economic and disaster recovery plan. This report summarizes HSOAC's strategic planning process to support the government of Puerto Rico in its development of the recovery plan. The HSOAC team developed nearly 300 potential recovery actions (courses of action) that Puerto Rico could take to repair damage from the hurricanes and address longer-term economic recovery needs. The courses of action delineate potential activities, policies, programs, and strategies designed to further the goals prioritized by the government of Puerto Rico and other stakeholders. Each individual course of action describes an approach to addressing a problem associated with hurricane damage or with a preexisting condition that inhibits economic recovery. To develop the courses of action, the HSOAC team aligned 12 teams with the FEMA sectors supporting the National Disaster Recovery Framework, ranging from water to housing. For each course of action, the team estimated the costs that would likely be incurred and identified potential sources of funding for implementation. The extent of the hurricane damage, combined with the preexisting economic challenges, meant that the recovery actions identified covered every aspect of a modern economy. The hundreds of courses of action represent complex actions that need to be understood in context with how they redress these challenges, with insights into how they connect with the key interests of inclusiveness and innovation, what their contributions will be toward meeting the strategic objectives that the governor of Puerto Rico identified, and their impact on the total cost of the plan. To help the government of Puerto Rico select a cohesive and effective set of courses of action for its recovery plan, the HSOAC team bundled these courses of action into portfolios and developed a unique decision support tool to summarize and synthesize possible options. Ultimately, the analysis and support provided by the HSOAC team facilitated the governor's final decision on which courses of action and portfolios to select, but neither HSOAC nor the decision support engagements exclusively determined the content of the final recovery plan.

Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center analysts assessed Hurricanes Irma and Maria's effects on Puerto Rico's municipalities and the municipalities' ability to govern, deliver services, and recover and developed courses of action for recovery.

HSOAC presents a summary of hurricane damage to public buildings in Puerto Rico and 12 courses of action to repair damage and modernize public building infrastructure for increased resilience, improved energy efficiency, and improved user experience.

Following the 2017 hurricane season, the Federal Emergency Management Agency requested a review of Puerto Rico's hurricane damage and recovery needs. This report summarizes the resulting cross-sector analysis of history, conditions, and needs.