Puerto Rico is still suffering from category 4 Hurricane Maria’s extensive damage after it swept through the U.S. territory last week. Over three million U.S. citizens in the territory are without sufficient food, water, and fuel, according to the Associated Press. A large portion of the island doesn’t have water to drink and are not able to call for help because only 25% of cellphone towers survived the storm. Communications are lacking and electrical power may not be fully restored for a month.
Puerto Ricans pleaded for more federal help from agencies on Monday. The catastrophe-modeling firm AIR Worldwide said Hurricane Maria could result in approximately $72 billion in losses on the island. More than 700 responders in Puerto Rico were sent to coordinate a federal response that now includes more than 10,000 federal personnel on the ground, according to FEMA. Nine search and rescue teams have been working around the clock in the region, according to a FEMA tweet on Monday LINK. The agency said it has provided approximately 1.5 million meals, 1.1 million liters of water, and 12,000 emergency roof kits.
A team from the Western Area Power Authority helped with the initial damage assessments, but has since been redeployed to St. Thomas. Officials say additional responders will go to Puerto Rico when transportation to the island can be arranged.
See above for images of Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria’s destruction.
