BUFFALO, NY –  Dr. Mervin Roman Capeles is a survivor of Hurricane Maria who still lives in Puerto Rico and visits Buffalo periodically.

One year later, Dr. Capeles says there are parts of the island still without power.

“We received the most devastating fury of that hurricane," she said.

Nadia Pizarro has worked natural disasters with the American Red Cross over the last 10 years – including Hurricane Maria, Sandy and the Haiti earthquake. Pizarro says the response in Puerto Rico was different.

"It was just really bad,” she said. “To add insult to injury there was the attitude towards the victims of this natural disaster that I've never seen."

Both Capeles and Pizarro applaud Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s effort to file suit against the U.S. Government. Cuomo announced that it was time to hold the Trump administration accountable for what he says was a subpar emergency response.

"Puerto Ricans are American citizens!” Cuomo said. "What happened in Puerto Rico was an international disgrace!"

Reports estimate that more than 3,000 people died in the storm. According to the Governor, 11,000 Puerto Ricans are displaced and living in the Empire State. Nearly 5,000 families live in Buffalo and the Western New York area.

Nadia Pizarro has helped many of these families adjust in the Queen City.

While repairs can be made on the island, Pizarro says more work will be needed to help the people heal.

"This is gonna be a stain on our conscience,” said Pizarro. “We're all accountable and we all need to work together and fix this and make this as right as it can be, but we can’t bring back those 3,000 people, so what do we do to honor them and that's the question we really need to be thinking of as a country."