La Ocho Surf Shop posted on Facebook last week their store had been looted in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Photo: Facebook
Puerto Rico is hurting after Hurricane Maria left millions without power and crippled communication networks late last week. The governor told CNN on Monday that the island is on the brink of a serious humanitarian crisis. Not to mention residents below the Guatajaca Dam in the northwest of the island were evacuated amid fears of a potential collapse after the dam suffered “critical infrastructure failure.” Bottom line, Puerto Rico has a long road ahead to recover.
It’s severe weather events like these where people show their true colors, and it’s certainly heartening to see the amount of aid pouring into the island and the Caribbean at large after a series of devastating storms. Shout out to Jon Rose and a number of good humans that are providing relief through Waves for Water (to which you can donate here).
But for, say, the 99 percent – or maybe 99.9 percent – of humans that in times of distress lend a hand to their fellow man, there are a handful of bad apples out there that take advantage of others’ misfortune. And that’s exactly what happened to La Ocho Surf Shop in San Juan as they braced for Hurricane Maria.
“To all of our clients, we’d like to inform you that last night our shop was looted and they took everything,” said La Ocho Surf Shop in a Facebook Post last week. “If you know of any items being sold including boards, trunks, flip flops, or any type of surf product from shady individuals, please notify the authorities confidentially or through Facebook. Or let us know personally so we can take action. Everything will be kept confidential. Thank you.”
The 80-or-so comments the post has garnered basically amount to the same sentiment – how sorry folks are to hear what happened and that whoever would do such a thing is a total asshole.
We reached out to La Ocho for additional info and to see if any progress had been made in finding the person or persons responsible, but haven’t yet received a response. Likely because so many are having difficulty getting phone and internet service. What a bummer.
