Charlotte Area

NC Native Describes Destruction in Puerto Rico

WFAE | By Mark Rumsey

Published September 28, 2017 at 5:46 PM EDT

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Ashley Wright says there's not one or two iconic images of destruction in Puerto Rico. She says such images are everywhere.

Courtesy Angel J. Rivera Lugo

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Gasoline is in short supply in Puerto Rico.

courtesy Angel J. Rivera Lugo

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courtesy Angel J. Rivera Lugo

Hickory native Ashley Wright runs a wedding business in Puerto Rico, but Hurricane Maria's destruction has her back in North Carolina for a while. She evacuated on a humanitarian flight Wednesday, and arrived in Charlotte on Thursday.

Ashley Wright brought her cat Boda to North Carolina from Puerto Rico. She intends to stay in her hometown of Hickory until at least 50 percent of Puerto Rico has electricity.

"Typically a hurricane hits somewhere, and there’s that iconic photograph or two,” Wright tells WFAE's Mark Rumsey. “The way I would describe it is every corner, everywhere you look in Puerto Rico has that iconic image, that iconic photo.”

Without electricity in most of Puerto Rico, Wright says the island no longer has a credit card infrastructure and 'we're in a fully cash economy right now."

Here are ways you can help victims of the recent natural disasters.