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Daylong waits for necessities have become a way of life for Puerto Ricans after of Hurricane Maria.
Just 20 miles from the capital of San Juan, residents here are still marooned after Hurricane Maria destroyed the once-lush landscape more than a week ago, but people are finding ways to help each other.
They have no running water, electricity or reliable communication with the rest of the world, since Maria slammed into Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 as a Category 4 storm with winds of 155 mph and devastated the U.S. commonwealth.
Obtaining basic necessities of water, food and fuel for cars and generators is a daylong mission for each item. Across the Plata River, where a long line of cars and people wait for drinkable water from a tower, a smaller line formed near a PVC pipe that had water trickling from a hillside spring.
Nicolle Ramos, 29, of nearby Toa Alta, said her family uses the water for bathing, flushing toilets and — after it's boiled — drinking.