LUNQUILLO, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rican homeowners still struggle with blue tarps nearly a year after Hurricane Maria.
- Homes in Puerto Rico town still covered by tarps
- Despite tarps, water still finding ways into homes
- Storm victim says FEMA not offering much help
Wander just a few miles away from some of Puerto Rico's nicest beach resorts and you'll find yourself in towns like Lunquilllo -- where dozens of homes still have blue tarps.
"The winds were so strong, they broke the roof and this room flooded," said homeowner John Montanez.
Montanez said parts of the roof on his family's home blew off -- first during Hurricane Irma, then Maria.
After the storm, volunteers from the United States stopped at their home to install blue tarps.
When FEMA went to provide assistance, they reinforced the existing tarps on their roof.
Despite the tarps, water still finds a way into the home.
His family has to use buckets to collect the water each time it rains.
It has started to damage the home in other ways.
Montanez said the wood has started to rot, and the home's exterior paint is bubbling up because the water has begun seeping underneath.
"The tarp the first guys gave us worked better than the one installed by FEMA," he said.
Montanez says FEMA isn't giving them any more help.
So, for now, they're trying to save as much as possible to build a new roof themselves.
They hope to do it soon, as the future is uncertain.
"I hope another hurricane doesn't come soon because if not I think it'll take the rest of the roof away," he said.