![]() ![]() Less than two weeks later, on September 20, Hurricane Maria directly hit Puerto On September 10, 2017, President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration for Puerto Rico ( DR-4336) and FEMA designated nine of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities as eligible for FEMA’s Individual Assistance (IA), which provides relief for immediate needs and housing restoration. Irma’s heavy rains saturated the ground and its damaging winds weakened Puerto Rico’s already-fragile physical infrastructure and natural systems. Hurricane Irma-a category 5 storm-passed close to the main island of Puerto Rico on September 7, 2017, leading to widespread power outages and water service interruptions for several days. In September 2017, Puerto Rico was struck by two major hurricanes in quick succession. Two years later, the territory adopted a constitution (Constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, 1952), at which time it also became a U.S. In 1950, Puerto Rico was granted the right to organize a government with the passage of the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act. citizen with freedom of movement to travel back and forth to the mainland. The coasts, which boast popular beaches and tourist attractions, are home to Puerto Rico’s larger cities, including the capital of San Juan.įollowing the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico became an territory of the United States, and since passage of the Jones-Shafroth Act in 1917, anyone born in Puerto Rico is a U.S. Much of the interior of the main island is mountainous, characterized by steep slopes and narrow valleys and is relatively sparsely populated. Situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,100 miles east-southeast of Miami, Florida, the archipelago of Puerto Rico consists of a main island two populated islands off its east coast, Culebra and Vieques and several smaller, uninhabited islands. Photo by OGphoto / Getty Images Puerto Rico It's resulted in tough austerity measures as Puerto Rico is trying to jump-start its economic growth.San Juan, Puerto Rico, viewed from Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery. territory from the federal bankruptcy code. Ricardo Arduengo / AFP - Getty Images fileĬreated during the Obama administration under the 2016 Promesa law, the federal fiscal board is responsible for restructuring Puerto Rico’s $72 billion public debt after U.S. Blue tarps given out by FEMA cover several roofs two years after Hurricane Maria affected the island in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. The Fiscal Oversight and Management Board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances has said the remaining bulk of the reconstruction aid is scheduled to be disbursed after fiscal year 2025, according to Sergio Marxuach, CNE's policy director and author of the analysis. "That starts with ensuring that Puerto Rico’s needs are included in the build back better agenda, and that our infrastructure investments meet the greatest need." Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in the press conference alongside Velázquez. “As we invest in upgrading and modernizing our American infrastructure system, we have to make sure that we do it everywhere, in every community," Sen. Puerto Rico has received about $18 billion, according to FEMA's Recovery Support Function Leadership Group. Four years later, about 71 percent of those funds have not reached communities on the island archipelago. Hurricane Maria left $90 billion in damages and Congress allocated at least $63 billion for disaster relief and recovery operations. ![]() "Puerto Ricans are experiencing blackouts almost daily and every single one of those blackouts takes them back to that unforgettable dawn of September, 2017,” said the congresswoman of Puerto Rican descent. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., said during a press conference Monday hosted by the Hispanic Federation to remember the roughly 3,000 lives that were lost to Hurricane Maria. “If a hurricane today, category one, hits the island, it will not survive. Regarding reconstruction, some of the most important work, which includes "undertaking mitigation activities to increase resiliency and reduce the risk exposure of vulnerable populations - has not yet begun," according to the analysis. A new analysis by the Center for a New Economy, a Puerto Rico-based nonpartisan think tank, argues that rebuilding after the hurricane is just one of three "systemic shocks" - along with the Covid-19 pandemic and the decadelong financial crisis - that is challenging Puerto Rico. ![]()
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