Puerto Rico: Hurricane Maria Aftermath

• Six months post-Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans still face challenges in accessing basic necessities such as food and water; many rely on candles and generators due to ongoing power issues, and home repairs are still in progress.
• Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico six months prior, severely impacting the island, which continues to struggle with recovery.
• Levid Ortiz, operating director of PR4PR, highlights the continued needs of many across the island and the slow pace of recovery.

Recovery Efforts

• 250 Puerto Ricans lined up to receive water and food in Corozal, where many still lack power.
• Keishla Quiles, a 23-year-old single mother, exemplifies the struggles of those without power, needing to buy ice daily to keep food cold.
• 99% of residents now have restored water, and 93% have power.
• Over 100,000 residents are still without power, experiencing frequent outages.
• Justo Gonzalez, the former interim director for Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority, hoped the entire island would have power by May, eight months after the hurricane.
• Hurricane Maria destroyed two-thirds of the island's power system.
• Walter Higgins replaced Gonzalez as the president of the power company in late March.

Safety Concerns

• Officials in Puerto Rico are inspecting utility poles due to safety hazards.
• A wooden telephone pole fell on a car, killing an elderly couple, Luis Beltran, 62, and Rosa Bosque, 60, raising safety concerns.
• Mayor Edwin Soto mentioned crews would inspect poles in Las Marias, following the incident.

Impact on Families

• Migdalia Beltran shared that her brother, who had moved back from New Jersey to be with family after the hurricane, was among those killed.

Financial Cost

• The storm caused an estimated $100 billion in damages and resulted in dozens of deaths.
• The hurricane damaged or destroyed nearly 400,000 homes.
• Since the hurricane, over 135,000 people have migrated to the U.S. mainland.
• Florida has received more than 40% of those who migrated followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania.

Funding

• Of the $23 billion pledged for Puerto Rico, $1.27 billion has been spent on nutrition and over $430 million on repairing infrastructure.
• The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has spent more than $6 billion from its emergency fund.
• Tom Bossert indicated Puerto Rico would receive an additional $10 billion for restoration efforts.

Power Restoration Scrutiny

• The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources wants answers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the reduction of power restoration crews.
• While some progress has been made, power restoration efforts are incomplete.
• Colonel Jason Kirk is overseeing power restoration efforts for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, however Puerto Rico's power company will take over.