Puerto Rican Restaurant Patrons Pray For Those Hit By Maria
DENVER (CBS4)- Hurricane Maria took the tropical island of Puerto Rico and turned it into something resembling a battleground.
At the Puerto Rican restaurant El Coqui D'aqui at Colorado Boulevard and Evans Avenue in Denver, those inside were hoping to get in touch with family and friends.
Guillermo Gonzalez motioned to the replica of a Puerto Rican wooden home with the tin roof and said, "My dad's house is just like this and I'm pretty sure it has been blown away."
The normally crystal clear Caribbean waters surged over the streets wiping out businesses and homes.
Jeicky Polaco, an insurance agent in Thornton, was able to get through to his mother by using an app.
"My mother's house doesn't exist anymore. It was half wood and half concrete. It's basically all gone," he said.
Puerto Rico's natural beauty, its culture and beaches are among its draws. Power could be out for months in many locations. The tourism business has been shut down.
Alex Rivera, the owner of el Coqui D'aqui, said, "What I've heard, it's taking the island back 50 or 60 years from the devastation."
Mother Nature has delivered a one-two punch to this U.S. island territory. First, a glancing blow from Hurricane Irma, now a knockout punch from Maria.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.