Like most houses in Puerto Rico, Jason Matos’ home is built low to the ground and with cinderblocks, an aesthetic concession to the architectural necessities of life inside of a hurricane corridor. Having been born and raised in Puerto Rico, Matos also is accustomed to the periodic storms that batter the island.
But on Sept. 20, 2017, as the winds intensified and the rain lashed his sturdy home, he started to worry.
“I put my wife and daughter and three dogs in the bathroom until the winds died down," Matos recalled. "They were in there for about four or five hours.