Puerto Rico was hit by Hurricane Maria with Irma-level winds, the island was completely drenched with Harvey-level flooding, loss of communication and decimated buildings.
A damaged dam had put the residents at the risk of catastrophe but the help provided is slow and the officials described the devastation as ‘apocalyptic’.
The Gov.Ricardo Rossello mentioned that the nation is undergoing a humanitarian crisis, requesting the Congress to provide a commensurate aid package. The US commonwealth, is already suffering from a prolonged economic crisis and it will take some time to recover.
The Puerto Rico’s residents were emphatisez , the governor said that they required something tangible, a bill that will answer to their needs as it will lead to massive exodus to the United States.
Immediate help was demanded by the leading democrats for swift action to help the island.
The Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asked the Republicans to join the Democrats and help in relief. Hilary Clinton urged the Defense Department to send a Navy medical ship.
Pelosi said that the Trump administration should immediately collect additional Department of Defense resources for search-and-rescue operations, law enforcement and transportation needs. The Americans in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands should have an idea that their government will be there and help them.
Due to the infrastructure concerns on the island Trump’s visit is not finalised, President Trump has pledged federal help for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
However, Tom Bossert, Homeland Security Adviser and FEMA administrator Brock Long were travelling to Puerto Rico as per the White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
Sarah said that the federal response was slow, there was an unprecedented push through billions of dollars in federal assistance.
So far airplanes with meals,water and generators are headed to Puerto Rico and the affected Caribbean islands said the Federal Emergency Management Agency. More than 10,000 federal employees have been deployed in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
