Distraught Ricky Martin fears for missing brother in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

The singer said his family have not had contact with his sibling
Emma Powell28 September 2017
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Ricky Martin has been left fearing for his brother’s safety after failing to make contact with him after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico.

The island was ravaged by winds of up to 155 miles per hour as Maria made landfall last week leaving 3.4 million residents without power and forcing some 15,000 people to seek refuge in shelters.

Martin, who is from the Caribbean island, voiced his frustration at being unable to reach his brother as he made a plea for help on Twitter.

“Just to let you know I’m just as frustrated,” he said. “I haven’t been able to talk to my brother yet we have no idea where he’s at. I’m sure I’m not the only one dealing with this uncertainty.

“I know there are many men and women living abroad or within the island who haven’t been able to talk to their relatives because of communication issues.”

Martin went on to encourage people to continue donating to his YouCaring crowdfunder which he set up in the wake of the devastation. Some $912,818 has been raised so far by more than 7,000 donors.

Hurricane Maria - In pictures

1/34

He continued: “But I want you to know that I’m really happy and thankful for the amount of love we’ve received for our relief fund.

“We’ve reached our goal and now the goal needs to get higher because there is so much that needs to be done.”

Martin also made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where he was presented with a cheque for $80,000 courtesy of Cheerios and General Mills.

Jennifer Lopez, whose parents are Puerto Rican, has pledged $1 million to the relief effort.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in