Questionnaires go out this week as officials look to build a data-backed picture of losses.
Puerto Rico’s Planning Board (Junta de Planificación) will send questionnaires to public and private entities this week to quantify the economic losses caused by the island’s 2026 drought, board president Héctor Morales Martínez announced Tuesday.
“The goal of the study is to have direct, verifiable data that allows us to determine, as precisely as possible, the real scope of the drought’s impact on our economy. This information is necessary not only to measure the losses, but also so the government can have an objective basis when evaluating assistance initiatives, claims, incentives and other measures aimed at mitigating the damage and supporting economic recovery,” Morales Martínez said in a written statement.
The board’s Economic and Social Planning Program will distribute the questionnaires this week to agencies, municipalities, private businesses and organizations. Through their responses, the Planning Board aims to identify lost revenue, additional costs, operational disruptions, damages, employment effects, mitigation expenses and assistance already received.
The results will support decisions on assistance programs, claims, incentives and other recovery initiatives. The study is part of the measures adopted under Executive Order 2026-035.
A costly precedent
As a benchmark, the Planning Board estimated that the 1994-1995 drought caused $93.9 million in agricultural losses during fiscal year 1994, followed by another $100 million in the first quarter of the next fiscal year. The agency also calculated a reduction in gross product, at current prices, of $65.7 million during fiscal year 1993-1994 and $140 million during 1994-1995.
For the 2014-2015 drought, the Planning Board’s assessment estimated $22.7 million in economic damage, once income received by farmers was discounted. Of that total, $13.8 million was attributed to agriculture; $3.9 million to manufacturing; $2.8 million to services; and $2.5 million to government.
Morales Martínez urged entities receiving the questionnaire to complete it so the estimate reflects the drought’s impact on productive sectors, employment and business continuity.
