Santa Isabel

Merced said she would travel to the nearby town of Santa Isabel on Friday, and if she doesn’t find diesel there, she will drive more than an hour to the northern city of Caguas, where at least one convenience store had a “No gas” sign on its door Thursday evening.

Cars drive under a downed power pole in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico September 21, 2022.

At the Santa Isabel farm many of the coffee pickers who turned out this year are Venezuelan migrants, who need to send money to relatives at home.

For almost four decades the Santa Isabel estate has been growing coffee and roasting it on its premises with machines powered by water and coal.

That has helped Santa Isabel to stave off major losses.