ABC7 reporter Leah Hope returns to Puerto Rico to help recovery efforts

ABC7 reporter Leah Hope is back in Puerto Rico for a second time to help with recovery efforts after covering the devastation left by Hurricane Maria last year.

On Sunday, Hope and other volunteers brought supplies to elderly residents living in Palo Seco, located in the southeastern part of the island that was struck first by the storm. She said that running water has returned to that area, but the electrical system is still not reliable.

She also visited the memorial outside of Puerto Rico's capitol building containing more than 1,000 pairs of shoes to honor the thousands feared dead as a result of the hurricane.

While the official death toll from the storm is 64, a recent Harvard study suggested there could have been as many as 4,645 deaths related to the September 2017 hurricane.

You can follow her trip on her Facebook page.