Last week, Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria. Roofs were swept away and roads destroyed. The death toll currently stands at 16, but is likely to rise because many remote provinces haven’t been able to submit casualty reports yet. A week after the disaster, 60 percent of the island still has no water, and 100 percent of the island remains without power. The lack of power also means there is no access to communication, sewers, refrigeration, or many other basic necessities. What’s worse, it will likely take months to rebuild the electrical grid and restore power to everyone. Hurricane Maria also destroyed the agricultural industry, an estimated $780 million in crops. This means that for the foreseeable future, all basic food supplies will have to be flown or shipped in. And in a country where 45 percent of the population was already living below the poverty line, this is especially devastating.
Congress insists that it is responding as rapidly to Hurricane Maria as it did after Hurricanes Harvey (Texas) and Irma (Florida). The problem is, because Puerto Rico is an island, food and water and other critical supplies have to be either flown or shipped in. The island’s airfield is damaged, many shipping ports remain closed, and important roads and bridges are impassable. In the meantime, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing aid from the same $15.3 billion fund that was approved by Congress earlier this month to assist with relief efforts in Texas and Florida.
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