Ponce, Puerto Rico
Reuters
President Joe Biden on Monday pledged more than $US60 million in aid to help US territory Puerto Rico and said more money was coming, as he sought to present a more compassionate image than his predecessor, Donald Trump, while surveying damage from Hurricane Fiona.
Soon after arriving with his wife, Jill Biden, the President met with victims of the hurricane, which left Puerto Rico without power for an extended period. Biden will travel to Florida on Wednesday to see damage from Hurricane Ian.
“We came here in person to show that we’re with you. All of America’s with you as you receive and recover and rebuild,” Biden said in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
US President Joe Biden embraces Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez as he delivers remarks at Port of Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 3rd October. PICTURE: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
Biden alluded to the controversy surrounding Trump’s response to Hurricane Maria when it ravaged Puerto Rico in 2017, killing thousands. Some residents of the island said Trump was slow to dispatch aid in the wake of that hurricane. Trump objected to sending more money to Puerto Rico after the hurricane and froze billions intended for the island, a move Biden has reversed.
“Yes, Puerto Rico is a strong place and Puerto Ricans are a strong people, but even so you have had to bear so much, more than need be, and you haven’t gotten help in a timely way,” Biden said.
MORE THAN 560,000 STILL WITHOUT POWER IN FLORIDA AFTER HURRICANE IAN
More than 560,000 homes and businesses were still without power in Florida on Monday, four days after Hurricane Ian crashed across the state on 28th and 29th September.
The death toll from the storm climbed past 80 as embattled residents in Florida and the Carolinas faced a recovery whose costs are expected in the tens of billions of dollars, and some officials faced criticism over their response.
Insurers, meanwhile, were bracing for a hit of up to $US57 billion as they try to assess the damage from Ian in Florida and South Carolina, according to risk modeling firm Verisk.
Utilities have restored service to most customers affected by the storm. Ian knocked out power to more than four million customers in Florida.
The storm also left more than 1.1 million homes and businesses without power in North and South Carolina after hitting those states on 30th September to 1st October. Power has already been restored to customers in the Carolinas.
The utility with the most outages remaining, Florida Power & Light Co (FPL), said it expects complete restoration to 95 per cent of customers who remain without power by Friday, 7th October. FPL is a unit of Florida energy company NextEra Energy Inc.
– BRIJESH PATEL and SCOTT DISAVINO/Reuters
Biden said the $US60 million would help rebuild coastal regions. He was joined by Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell.
The funding will help “shore up levees and flood walls, and create a new flood warning system to help residents better prepare for future storms,” Biden said in a Twitter post.
As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico is neither a US state nor a sovereign nation, and residents do not have voting rights unless they move to the mainland.
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi, speaking before Biden, said: “We want to be treated in the same way as our fellow Americans in the states in times of need. All American citizens, regardless of where they live…should receive the same support from the Federal Government.”
Biden listed recent investments in Puerto Rico’s roads, bridges, mangrove restoration and coral reefs included in recent funding bills from the US Congress, and said more money was coming.
“I’m ready to deploy and expedite more resources from the Department in Energy and other federal agencies,” so that residents can get clean, reliable power, he said.
The Biden administration is monitoring the impact of Hurricane Ian on the insurance industry, Criswell told reporters aboard Air Force One. She said last week that the damages from Ian would be catastrophic.
Electricity restored
Hundreds of thousands of people have struggled without power since Fiona hit Puerto Rico some two weeks ago.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Sunday said that power had been restored to 90 per cent of customers on the island.
“This is an important milestone, coming just 13 days after Fiona made landfall,” she said. “While we’re grateful for this progress, we realise the work is not over. Efforts to rebuild and help those impacted will continue.”
Last week the Biden administration approved a waiver of US shipping rules to address Puerto Rico’s immediate energy needs.
