This year’s devastating hurricane season has affected millions of U.S. citizens across the nation. Since late August, Puerto Rico witnessed our fellow citizens’ grief in Florida, Texas and the Virgin Islands. Sadly, Puerto Rico was struck by the same shattering grief enduring hurricanes Irma and Maria.
When Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 6, the Ricardo Rossello administration stepped up to the plate and served as the launch pad for the U.S. emergency response in the Caribbean region, helping evacuate and shelter thousands of people from St. Thomas, Saint-Martin and other islands. In one of the most impressive rescue missions I have witnessed, our state government collaborated hand in hand with the Health and Human Services Department, the Department of State and the National Guard to run this operation. Puerto Rico became a safe haven for all those left stranded in the sister islands and in dire need of basic necessities.
{mosads}Our people came together, stronger than ever. Little did we know that we would be the main target of a historical grade hurricane less than two weeks after Irma.
On Sept. 20, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico. This atmospheric phenomenon left us with unprecedented devastation. The island known for lighting up the Caribbean when looked at from space, went absolutely dark. Infrastructure was devastated in every aspect. Homes, schools, hospitals, businesses, churches, telecomm towers, coffee plantations were all annihilated by the Category 5 hurricane. Days after, our people found themselves without food and water — lacking all of those things that seemed so basic and are now what determine our survival.
Today, it has been four weeks since Maria hit our island. Over 650,000 U.S. citizens on the island have filed claims with FEMA. Communities in towns like Utuado remain completely isolated from the outside world as collapsed bridges, roads and downed telecommunications severely restrict access and the ability to conduct emergency operations. At the same time, many hospitals that are operational are being run with temporary generators. This puts the lives of patients at risk should the generators run out of fuel. Most schools remain closed, and access to food and water is still difficult in some areas.
A small number of businesses are still operating and doing so at a significantly reduced capacity. Meanwhile, others will not be back in operation or running at pre-hurricane levels for a long time. By extension, an estimated 30,000 residents have left the island. It is expected that many more will leave if the situation does not significantly improve. This massive migration would negatively affect Puerto Rico’s ability to build back better and stronger.
Maria was a catastrophic event that dealt a crippling blow to the 3.4 million Americans living in Puerto Rico. The event compounded an already precarious situation with fiscal, economic and demographic challenges, whilst the Rossello administration was actively enacting sweeping reforms.
The monumental tasks at hand, as a result of this storm, can only be met by a robust federal response. The Trump administration and the U.S. House took a step in the right direction by approving a $36.5 billion disaster relief package. This critical package will allow us to address the immediate crisis and avert a liquidity crunch that would have shut down our government at the end of October.
Now it is critical Congress and the administration shift their focus to Puerto Rico’s long-term recovery. We must stabilize our fiscal and economic situation, prevent a population exodus and rebuild our economy. I urge Congress to take the next step and enact a substantial aid package for Puerto Rico. If the 3.4 million U.S. citizens on the island are not provided with additional support they need, thousands of families will continue moving to Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania and other states, leaving Puerto Rico unable to recover from the crisis and address its long-term fiscal challenges.
The facts on the ground make our request to Congress a moral imperative. American lives are at stake and the world’s greatest democracy must heed the call to action and pave the way for the recovery and rebuilding of Puerto Rico.
Carlos Mercader is the executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.