NORFOLK, Va. — The devastation from Hurricane Fiona is impacting families all across Hampton Roads.
In Puerto Rico, flooding caused homes and bridges to collapse. It comes five years to the day after Hurricane Maria slammed into the island as a major hurricane.
“It’s horrible. It’s just reliving everything again. The nightmares of not knowing what’s going to happen, how long they are going to be without electricity, without water," said Miguel Diaz. Diaz owns a coffee shop in Norfolk named after his home island, Rich Port Coffee.
He said most of his family still lives there.
“Thank God, yes, I have heard from them. It’s been a little different than [Hurricane] Maria in a way communication is still being a little bit more connected but they still cannot be talking as much because they have to save the battery as much as they can," said Diaz.
Diaz said he’s working with others to try to get a relief effort going to help people living in Puerto Rico.
The owners at the De Rican Chef Restaurant in Virginia Beach are waiting to hear from some relatives living on the island.
“I’ve been able to contact most of them except for my grandparents, who live on the northern-west side of the island. We’re just hoping and praying that they are OK," said co-owner Tamara De La Torre.
De La Torre said they are trying to raise funds for those impacted by the hurricane during their De Rican Fest this Saturday, September 24.
“We’re going to be donating a portion of funds and raffle ticket sales to the Latin Heritage Foundation but with everything going on now, we’re kind of pivoting and we’ll be donating those to a hurricane disaster fund," she said.
The De Rican Fest is this Saturday from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. at their Virginia Beach Oceanfront location on Virginia Beach Boulevard.