Hurricane Georges (1998)

Hurricane Georges made landfall in southeastern Puerto Rico near Yabucoa on September 21, 1998, as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 115 mph. The storm traversed the entire length of the island, a path of destruction that affected virtually every municipality.

The impact was devastating:
- At least 8 direct deaths
- $3.6 billion in damage (1998 dollars)
- 80% of the island lost electrical power
- 96% of the island lost water service
- 72,000 homes destroyed or damaged
- Agricultural sector devastated, particularly coffee and plantain crops

The aftermath revealed the structural vulnerabilities of colonial infrastructure. Power restoration took months in rural areas. FEMA's response was widely criticized as inadequate. Congress approved a $2.4 billion disaster aid package, but much of the reconstruction funding was slow to arrive.

Georges foreshadowed the even more catastrophic failure that would occur with Hurricane María 19 years later — the same fragile electrical grid, the same inadequate federal response, the same vulnerable colonial infrastructure. The lessons of Georges were not applied, and the same populations suffered again.