On September 2017, the catastrophic tropical cyclone Hurricane Maria tore through the Caribbean, mainly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, leaving three thousand dead, 70 percent of the housing damaged, and other signs of destruction that are still evident, nine years later. Fewer than ten percent of homeowners were insured. Never ones to waste a crisis, economists are poring over the event for useful lessons in such things as whether U.S. post-disaster policies are effective. “Currently, federal policy focuses on preserving communities,” said Shifrah Aron-Dine, Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Berkeley. “The emphasis is on rebuilding subsidies for homeowners with property […]