I guess FEMA is saying to Puerto Ricans, "Come back to the mainland now or die without clean water or food."
begin quote from:
Puerto Rico blindsided by FEMA announcement
FEMA ending food and water shipments to Puerto Rico, official says
Story highlights
- PR's state coordinating officer calls FEMA decision premature
- FEMA says new food and water shipments no longer needed
(CNN)More
than four months after Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency is halting new shipments of food and
water to the island, an agency official with direct knowledge of the
plan told CNN on Tuesday.
The
island government appeared blindsided by the decision, saying it was
still in talks with FEMA on a timetable for assuming control of food and
water distribution.
FEMA
has called the island's emergency operation the longest sustained
distribution of food, fuel and water in agency history, including more
than $1.6 billion worth of food and more than $361 million worth of
water.
New
shipments of food and water will officially stop Wednesday to the US
commonwealth in the Caribbean, though FEMA said it has more than 46
million liters of water, 2 million Meals Ready to Eat and 2 million
snack packs on the ground for distribution if needed.
"The
commercial supply chain for food and water is re-established and
private suppliers are sufficiently available that FEMA-provided
commodities are no longer needed for emergency operations," the agency
said in a statement.
Héctor
M. Pesquera, the government's public safety secretary and state
coordinating officer, said the transition period for local authorities
to take over distribution should last at least two weeks.
"The
Government ... is waiting for critical data provided by FEMA in order
to determine when the responsibilities should be transferred from FEMA
to the Government of Puerto Rico," Pesquera said in a statement.
"This
has not happened yet and we were not informed that supplies would stop
arriving, nor did the Government of Puerto Rico authorize this action."
Pesquera
acknowledged that conditions "in most areas have improved and many
economic indicators are showing that recovery is underway."
FEMA pledges continued support
FEMA
spokesman William Booher said the agency "will continue to support any
documented needs and will provide supplies to volunteer agencies and
other private nonprofit organizations ... working with households in
rural, outlying areas to address ongoing disaster-related needs as power
and water is gradually restored."
The
agency, which still has about 5,000 personnel on the island, is
prepared to restart food and water shipments should the need arise,
according to the official with knowledge of the plan.
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, a frequent critic of the federal response to the devastating September hurricane, reacted to the decision on Twitter, asking in Spanish, "Seriously, are they leaving?"
"This
is the kind of indifference that must be stopped. Enough," wrote Cruz,
who will attend Tuesday's State of the Union address as a guest of US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York.
Speaking
Tuesday at a Washington event sponsored by the Latino Victory Fund
political action committee, the mayor said some schools outside San Juan
still have no water, power or even supplies of milk.
Nearly half a million power utility customers remained without electricity as of last week, according to the power authority.
Problems remain in some rural towns
In
December, representatives of the island's Emergency Management Agency
and FEMA consulted mayors across the island to determine the need of
food and water to their communities, according to FEMA.
The
agency said nine regional staging areas established to distribute food
and water to the island's 78 mayors will remain open.
Domingo
Marqués, a clinical psychologist who lives in San Juan, said many
outlying towns still have serious problems with food and water.
"For some municipalities, it is wise to stop," Marqués said of food distribution efforts.
"Some
have all roads open, and most of their barrios have power. The
mountains are still without power, potable water, and some areas have
lost the main roads. This means that some residents have to drive ...
30 to 40 minutes to get to a store when it usually takes five to 10
minutes. The elderly have it worse since they depend on others for
transportation."
No comments:
Post a Comment