to the capital, San Juan, has allowed extraordinary urban and commercial development in the region. The municipality became renown in the 1990s for popularizing the urban legend of the chupacabras. Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides, and caused catastrophic damages in Canóvanas. Five cases of Leptospirosis were reported in Canóvanas. Geography Canóvanas sits on the Northern Coastal Plain region of Puerto Rico. It is bordered by the municipalities of Loíza, Río Grande, Las Piedras, Juncos, Gurabo, and Carolina. Canóvanas covers only 28 square miles (72.8 km2). Canóvanas combines flat alluvial plains in the center and north, areas with both gentle hills and rugged, deeply dissected mountainous areas made up of volcaniclastic rocks (lava flows and exposed intrusive igneous rocks) to the southeast and south. The Cuchilla de Santa Inés, a karstic limestone hill (mogote) with an elevation of 328 feet, rises from coastal sediments on the northeast of the municipality near San Isidro, while the Cuchilla El Asomante lies at the south with elevations that range from 656 to 2,296 feet. On the southeast, Canóvanas features portions of the Sierra de Luquillo mountain range, with the Cerro El Negro being the tallest peak in the municipality at 2,592 feet. Other notable peaks are La Peregrina (1,903 feet) and Pitahaya (951 feet), both located at Barrio Hato Puerco. Water features Much of the flat plains are part of the flood-prone alluvial valley of the Río Grande de Loíza and its main tributaries, the Río Canóvanas and Río Canovanillas. Floods are typical during the storm season, between June and November. Other important tributaries are the Río Herrera and Río Cubuy, as well as numerous creeks. Barrios Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Canóvanas is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a small barrio referred to as , near the center of the municipality. Canóvanas Canóvanas barrio-pueblo Cubuy Hato Puerco Lomas Torrecilla Alta The urban center of Canóvanas is located along Road PR-3, historically the main road between San Juan and Fajardo. Sectors Barrios (which are like minor civil divisions) in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial, among others. Special Communities (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing a certain