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Great Falls woman worried for family affected by hurricane that hit Puerto Rico

Dianna Vandeberg
Posted at 8:33 AM, Sep 22, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-22 13:00:18-04

"I feel really bad for them having to go through this a second time,” Dianna Vandeberg said when asked how tough it is to see the devastation in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Fiona, knowing she has family there but can’t do anything.

Vandeberg is doing all she can to stay in touch with friends and family in Puerto Rico.

As of Wednesday, communication was still limited.

"The only information I have right now is because of my mom communicating with my sister. I do not know anything about my father or my grandmother or any other of my family members,” Vandeberg explained.

Hurricane Fiona made landfall on Puerto Rico as a category one hurricane with the island still trying to recover from Hurricane Maria in 2017.

That storm tore through Vandeberg's home town.

"That was tough. For that one, I did not have any communication with my family for, probably, a few weeks,” said Vandeberg.

When asked if, in times like these, she wishes she could be back in Puerto Rico to help out, she said yes. "Sometimes I would like to be down there. I'm not sure what I could do but I'm sure I could volunteer and do something helpful."

She said the people of Puerto Rico are often told they're resilient, to pray, and things are going to get better but they want more than that.

"They just don't want to be resilient they just want for things to actually improve, for the infrastructure to be better than it is,” Vandeberg said. “(It’s going to take) a miracle (for the island to recover.) Like for real, a miracle probably. Just a lot of hard work."


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Dianna Vandeberg
Dianna Vandeberg