GUAYAMA, Puerto Rico — From the air, blue tarps cover homes and buildings along the streets of Barrio Borinquen, one of Guayama's poorest neighborhoods — and where a shocking viral video was shot.

  • Puerto Rican woman recalls viral video shot during Hurricane Maria
  • In it, Dalin Rodriguez, family take refuge on balcony
  • Rushing water flooded streets, damaging power lines, cars

One week after Easter, by chance, we meet Dalin Rodriguez. Her home once stood nearby.

She points to the collapsed walls, roof gone. Hurricane Maria's 130 mph winds.

"I used to live in this house," she says in Spanish. "Right before the hurricane. Now, I rent this house, but I rode out the hurricane there at my mom's."

The welcoming aroma of arroz con salchicha wafts from her kitchen and fills the air. She shows us her new digs.

There's her Bible, and her beloved statue of the virgen de Guadalupe, still intact.

Back outside, it's dry on the street, with just a few parked cars.

She shows us a video on her cell phone. THE video. The one she shot that went viral in the wake of the hurricane.

In it, you can see the same street, taken from the balcony across the street.

But the street is a raging river. Strong winds blow as brown, muddy water from the River Guamani swiftly rushes by, claiming power lines, debris, even cars. Rodriguez and her family can be heard in the background.

Much like the battered Puerto Rican flag standing among the rubble, Rodriguez, too is staying strong. 

Longer, exclusive version of the viral video