Making landfall on September 20, Hurricane Maria was a catastrophic disaster that left Puerto Rico in ruins. The hurricane that wreaked havoc for over 30 hours caused destruction and impacted not only Puerto Rico, but people living in the United States.

We interviewed multiple people within the Francis Lewis community who survived Hurricane Maria.

Daisy Augusto and Jaime Lopes are in-laws of Francis Lewis High School faculty member Mike Gonzalez. Augusto and Lopes came back to the New York in order to escape the the aftermath of the hurricane.

Iris Hernandez, a junior at Francis Lewis, had to leave her home country behind after Hurricane Maria. The school that Iris attended all her life had been destroyed by the hurricane.

Vania Tong, a junior at Francis Lewis, also had to transfer schools in order to continue her education.

These are their stories.