Beloved scientist Ada Monzón warned millions of 'monster' Hurricane Maria, addressed 'great suffering' with education, outreach in storm's wake
Resilience is an engineering concept that refers to the ability of a material to recover its original shape or position after being subjected to extreme force.
For Puerto Rican meteorologist Ada Monzón, the concept of resilience has a much more special meaning. Words such as community service, science, education, access to information and innovation coexist in a space of her being that drives her mission to transform Puerto Rico into a resilient society in the face of natural disasters.
The scientist is known by everyone on the island. She has more than 30 years of experience as a meteorologist and has worked in private companies, for the federal and local government, and as a weather broadcaster for the main news media of the island.
(AccuWeather Photo/Manuel Crespo Feliciano)
She is also the founder of the EcoExploratorio: Museum of Sciences of Puerto Rico, an educational project that seeks to inspire young and old about the importance of science and the conservation of the environment.
"Our mission is to create the first science museum of Puerto Rico. We want to establish that this is the house of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Where children and their families can be inspired, get entertained and that they learn about science by doing and creating; to be an extension of the classroom and that kids that come, learn to respect nature. Also, a place where tourism stands out as one of the pillars of economic development in Puerto Rico", Monzón told AccuWeather.
While the interview was going on, from a corner, Ada was observed by Puerto Rican meteorologists Karuska Matos Horta (AccuWeather en Español) and Fernanda Ramos (WIPR). Both have been her pupils and feel infinite admiration for everything that Ada Monzón represents: a woman who has a prominent leadership role in science and shows entrepreneurship and strength.
(AccuWeather Photo/Manuel Crespo Feliciano)
"To be honest, we are all very proud of Ada Monzón because she helped the whole country understand what was happening with Hurricane María. The country did not expect to have a hurricane of this magnitude, so basically she translated all the weather information into something that everyone could understand," Fernanda told AccuWeather.
In September 2017, due to Hurricanes Irma and María passing through Puerto Rico, Ada's broadcasts reached over 31 million viewers. According to the meteorologist, this responded to the public's need to know and educate themselves on issues related to atmospheric events of this magnitude.
But her work was not limited to digital platforms. Given the lack of resources and access to information, Ada Monzón and members of the museum, decided to visit 13 of the most affected municipalities by the hurricane.
They created lists of needs, distributed educational materials and became a bridge that linked science with the community in order to be a tool for social transformation that strengthened the character of the more than a thousand people who were impacted by the project.
"Very few people understand the magnitude of this event, but in that microcosm that we attended we could see that there was a great suffering and that there were a lot of needs to be addressed," said an emotional Monzón.
And even though she is a strong woman, dedicated to what she calls her "mission of life," we cannot lose sight of the fact that she is a Puerto Rican woman who experienced an unprecedented tragedy on the island.
"What is the footprint left by Hurricane María on Ada Monzón?," we asked.
"The Ada Monzón that you are seeing now is not the same Ada that I was before the hurricane. The hurricane drained me. María brought out the best in me and the greatest emotions of my life. I felt the need to inform the people of this monster that was coming. And I put all my strength, wisdom, experiences, all of me, at the service of the people of Puerto Rico," she concluded.
