In September 2017, Category 4 storm Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico head-on The storm caused the longest electricity black-out in U.S. history A new NASA study mapped Puerto Rico’s slow recovery using night lights satellite data Lights before the storm Lights after the storm Four months after the storm Six months after the storm This high-resolution imagery was created with three powerful data sets that monitored the absence of electricity 41 percent of the long-duration power outages that occurred post-Maria happened in rural areas 29 percent of the long-duration power outages occurred in urban areas Puerto Rico’s energy grid directs all power to prioritized locations, like urban centers, rather than by proximity to the nearest power plant Imaging the absence of electricity from space offers a new way to visualize impacts to Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable communities The next step will be to sync-up Black Marble night lights data with updated information on community lifelines Which can help local governments and first responders identify at-risk areas and allocate resources