We weren't prepared for the hurricanes, we weren't prepared for the earthquakes and we're

definitely weren't prepared for this global health emergency.

From Futuro Miria, it's Latino USA.

I'm Maria Inojosa.

Puerto Rico was not in good shape when the first cases of COVID-19 appeared back in February.

The island is still going through a severe economic depression and it's still recovering

from the devastation left by back-to-back hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.

After Hurricane Maria, hospitals and clinics throughout the island were overwhelmed.

In Puerto Rico, the government says one of its top priorities is restoring power to the island's hospitals.

And people you can imagine all over this island, maybe in desperate condition, maybe they need dialysis,

maybe they run out of their anti-hypertensive medicines, but they simply cannot ask for help.

Many of the deaths in Puerto Rico came in the days, weeks and months after the hurricane struck last September,

raising new questions about the federal and local response.

And experts estimate that almost 3,000 people died as a result.

Then just one month before the coronavirus crisis started to spread globally,

a string of earthquakes and tremors rocked the southern part of the island.

In Puerto Rico, a state of emergency has been declared after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The houses and buildings crumbled at least one public school plummeted to the ground,

and some area hospitals had to be evacuated.

We felt tremors throughout the night, and this morning we can expect more seismic activity in the days to come.

With a vulnerable population and a precarious healthcare system,

experts warned that without an adequate response to the pandemic,

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