Residents in Guayama, Puerto Rico, Share Just One Phone
By Kendall Russell | October 2, 2017
The Civil Air Patrol, in cooperation with the Air National Guard, conducts an aerial survey over northern Puerto Rico Sept. 26, 2017. Photo: U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Nicholas Dutton.
The record-breaking winds of Hurricane Maria decimated most of Puerto Rico’s communications infrastructure, leaving just 100 or so cell towers working out of 1,600. But one resident who runs a pharmacy in Guayama discovered that her satellite phone never stopped working. Since then, the pharmacy has become the town’s only link to the outside world.