Some estimates put the damage caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico to be somewhere north of $95 billion.

For some in the region, they've had to go without basic necessities for months, as many have struggled to get back on their feet. And a great deal of those who had the means to leave the area, and had a place to go when they left, have already made the decision to do so.

Some reports suggest that Puerto Rico might have lost nearly 6+ percent of its population following the hurricane.

According to the government's own estimates, by the end of this year they say that roughly 200k people will have left for the mainland.

The hurricane did a great deal of damage and contributed to the closure of thousands of businesses in the area. It's estimated that between 5k-8k businesses have been closed permanently, while few have been working hard to re-open.

Many people feel that the government failed at multiple levels in trying to provide any solution to the situation.

One recent Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll was conducted to investigate their thoughts on that response and the study involved at least 1,500 participants who engaged in a face-to-face survey. According to that sample of participants, roughly 83 percent saw serious damage to their home because of the storm or they had lost power for several months.

When asked how they felt about the federal government's response, the local government's response, and the municipal government's response etc, most respondents weren't very pleased with the service that they'd witnessed or been provided.

7 in 10 say that the Puerto Rican government failed them...

followed by roughly two-thirds of the respondents who criticized the governor for his seeming lack of response. Smaller majorities further reported that they felt there was a failure seen from multiple levels of government. Roughly 55 percent said that they don't feel that the federal government is genuinely dedicated to seeing the community rebuilt and back on its feet.

It sounds like what many received following the hurricane was a wake-up call, finally realizing that while you might have been told or might have believed government would always be there to save you and help you, often that isn't going to be the case.

The need for help that many have in the region has prompted a growing number of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs to look toward traveling to Puerto Rico in an effort to help. Some reports suggest that they're already working together to build what's been referred to as Puertopia, they hope that some day the region will eventually become a crypto paradise.

A variety of charities, private companies, and individuals, have taken it upon themselves to either go over to Puerto Rico to help or to assist in some other way and without their help, it's obvious that many more people would be suffering in the region. One NY Times report suggests that a single chef, by the name of José Andrés, has manged to feed more people in Puerto Rico following the hurricane than any other relief organization that's been working in the area. Their efforts demonstrate that together we are capable of achieving much more, by voluntarily working to meet a need or reach a certain goal, than we might think we are capable of, if only we could just let go of our illusion that we need a central organization with a monopoly on violence to think up or carry out the solution for us.

The government's ability to assist the people who have been suffering as a result of the hurricane has been shown to be wildly inefficient and these results shouldn't surprise them. According to military intelligence, they expected the government to fail. A previous assessment that was conducted shortly after the storm hit, suggested that the government's response following the hurricane would likely have a high potential for failing.

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