Kiko Alonso’s family ‘all OK’ after riding out monster hurricane in Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria ripped through Puerto Rico like a buzzsaw, knocking out power for 3.4 million residents and killing at least one person.

Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso has family who rode out the storm there, and while he believes “they’re all OK,” he knows the herculean rebuilding task ahead of them.

“My dad's side of the family lives there,” Alonso said. “Just seeing the pictures of what happened, it's just devastating. My heart goes out to them. We're trying to get something done to raise some money. They obviously have all kinds of issues. That should be up and running soon.”

Alonso added: “Mother Nature's a [expletive].”

Alonso’s father is Cuban, but was raised in Puerto Rico. Aunts, uncles and cousins still live there. His heritage is important to him; Alonso held a youth camp on the island in April. The free clinic was held for kids aged 8-16.

“Those kids love playing football,” Alonso said. “Obviously, it's not the biggest sport. You've got baseball, boxing, volleyball, basketball. There's a lot of kids who play and there's a lot of talent. Football's all about passion and pride. They've got a lot of that.”

This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Kiko Alonso’s family ‘all OK’ after riding out monster hurricane in Puerto Rico."