WASHINGTON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Following the impact of Hurricane Fiona last month, Joe Biden acknowledged that Puerto Rico had faced numerous challenges over the previous five years but had not received adequate timely assistance. As a result, he announced on Monday that his government will provide funding of $60 million particularly to aid coastal areas become more storm-resilient.
The President said the funds would be used for projects including flood walls strengthening and a new flood warning system among others.
On a visit to Puerto Rican town of Ponce, which is severely damaged by the storm, Biden, along with his wife first lady Jill Biden, said the climate crisis and more extreme weather were going to hit the island, and hit the US overall, and as they rebuilt they had to ensure it was to rebuilt to last, but specifically focused on the power grid.
After his address, he refused to answer any press questions, but he did acknowledge shortcomings in prior assistance to Puerto Rico.
Mid-September saw Hurricane Fiona slam the US territory. About 8% of customers were still without power two weeks after the hurricane, while 33,192 people were still without water supply.
With its 3.3 million population, Puerto Rico was still recuperating from Hurricane Maria, a category 5 storm, five years ago. In addition, a string of earthquakes occurred in 2020, along with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The hurricane-affected citizens of Puerto Rico now have access to emergency funding from private donors and government aid after Biden authorized a disaster declaration for the island.
Puerto Ricans were furious at the FEMA’s decision to deny the right to an individual payment of $700 to coastal municipalities that suffered severe damage by the hurricane. Later, all 78 municipalities were included.
Not even close, said Biden on Monday, $700 wouldn’t replace what was lost, but it could assist in taking care of some of the little things while you caught your breath and got back on your feet.
The “Puerto Rican grid recovery modernization team,” which will be directed by US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm, was also announced by Biden.
The team would push decisive progress on the game plan for Puerto Rico’s clean energy revolution and immediately repair the grid, he said.
The Biden administration has been collaborating “closely” with the government of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia, the island’s governor said. Additionally, he pushed for equal treatment of Puerto Ricans as other US citizens.
“We haven’t been able to fully recover,” said Maritzaida Pacheco, a spokesperson for the Puerto Rican nonprofit Centros Sor Isolina Ferré, referring to the pre-Fiona calamities.
In addition, Biden noted that Congress had authorized billions of dollars for Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria, noting that much of it originally had not gotten there. He promised to make sure they got every single penny.
Hurricane Fiona arrived late in the Atlantic hurricane season, and it was quickly followed by Hurricane Ian, which devastated Florida last week.
