Who will help Puerto Rico?

[Steve Miller]

Puerto Rico is battling a massive economic and humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
It's not clear yet how much it will cost to rebuild. One conservative estimate puts total damage at $30 billion -- nearly a third the size of the island's entire economy.

Then there's Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/26/news/economy/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-cost/index.html

 

[Warren Faidley]

This is a big time disaster. Most of the local workers and police have returned home to support their families. Drivers for heavy equipment, fuel trucks, etc. have to be flown in. No electricity to pump fuel for bulldozers, etc. Both the mayor and governor are fighting over what to do. The existing electrical grid was failing before the storm. All occurring on an island. Not a political statement, but hard to blame the President for this one.

 

[John Farley]

Not a political statement, but hard to blame the President for this one.

Well, except that much of this was foreseeable. Except that the drivers have NOT been flown in after more than a week. Except that the President has been insulting the local officials. Not a political statement, but I am not the one that brought up the President.

 

[JeremyS]

We have the world's best military and a 600 BILLION budget for the military. It should have been used as much as possible from the very beginning. I get this hurricane was catastrophic, but the response was way too slow. It took 8 days to remove the Jones Act(when it was removed immediately for TX and FL) and to even plan on sending the USS Comfort. I heard #45 talked to people the day after the hurricane and than it was 6 more days before another in depth planning, etc conversation happened with him. He was too busy with other topics. Our response to Hayti in 2010 was much more appropriate than to our own American citizens in PR. Absolutely disgusting.

 

[Todd Lemery]

I believe FEMA is doing a very good job in spite of the circumstances. Maria came on the heels of the hurricanes that hammered Houston and Florida. Maria also hit the US Virgin Islands besides Puerto Rico spreading resources further.
In spite of FEMA having multiple disasters to work on, They had millions of meals and liters of water pre-staged before the hurricane hit along with other vital supplies like generators. Within two days of the hurricane, FEMA got the first airports and port opened, delivering previously said supplies.
Prior to Maria's landfall, Puerto Rican trucks drivers were pre arranged to distribute the supplies from the ports. By day five, only 20 percent of the truck drivers showed up to do their jobs. FEMA has largely made up for that deficit now, but tons of food, water and supplies made it to Puerto Rico's ports where they sat unnecessarily.
FEMA deserves a little more credit considering how many areas they had to address, Puerto Rico's poor infrastructure and the 1,200 mile distance from the US mainland.