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How can we improve the efforts of FEMA to ensure safety

and aid for victims impacted by hurricanes in Puerto Rico?

Federal Government response to Puerto Rico crisis

Instructor: Gregory Falls

Global Connections

Tallwood High School

By Jamyl Barnes

Appendix A
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Interviewer: Jamyl Barnes

Interviewee: Merysabel Ortiz who has family that reside in Dominican Republic, which

is a neighboring island to Puerto Rico

Question 1 asked by interviewer to the interviewee: How has natural disasters impacted

your loved ones that live in The Dominican Republic?

Merysabel Ortiz: ‘The Dominican Republic has not been deeply affected by natural

disasters as of other places like Haiti or Puerto Rico, that was recently hit with

Hurricane Maria, but we have suffered some effects especially around the border. Many

people in the Dominican Republic have made efforts to send packages and aid to help

Puerto Rico.”

Question 2 asked by the interviewer to the interviewee: Do you think the government of

The U.S. is doing a good job with aiding those impacted by natural disasters or

hurricanes even?

“In my opinion I think The US government should be doing way more than what they

are doing now, I think they are avoiding the situation and coming up with issues when

The US has enough power to do as they please

Table of Contents
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Abstract 3

Introduction 4

Limitations 5

Personal Bias 6

Donations Limitations 6

Author Satisfaction Limitations 7

Literature Review 7

Body 8

Conclusion 15

References 16

Abstract
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Puerto Rico is getting overlooked by today's society and not much attention is being paid to

them during this crisis the island is experiencing. Some people may not be aware that Puerto

Rico is part of U.S. territory which means many U.S. citizens reside in the region. The author

feels that The President of The United States is bias and only concerned about the catastrophes

that involve the states of America. The author shows that FEMA, which is the Federal

Emergency Management Agency who attempts to help aid the Puerto ricans but it has not been

enough The research portrays how the delayed Federal Government response of the U.S. has

affected the lives of the victims who are facing many challenges dealing with the damaging of the

infrastructure that Hurricane Maria caused in Puerto Rico. The main purpose of this research

paper is to answer how can the federal government can improve disaster response to lessen the

adverse impacts the victims face in Puerto Rico? The goal is to portray how the federal

government and the President of the United States shows bias towards the victims impacted by

hurricanes. Current research shows that Puerto Rico is still in crisis and is in need of major help.

Introduction

Natural disasters are a big challenge to overcome around the world, especially in

Puerto Rico where many residents have lost everything due to the recent Hurricane

Maria. Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 20, 2017, making it the most
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powerful hurricane to hit the island since 1932. The nearly Category 5 hurricane hit the

center of Puerto Rico leaving numbers of people dead or without anywhere to go and no

power. The tornado-like winds had a great impact on the damage of the infrastructure,

ripping thousands of homes and buildings into pieces. Finding immediate relief by the

federal government of the U.S., ensuring the health and safety of residents affected by

natural disasters, and improving the infrastructure of different buildings impacted by

the catastrophes and natural disasters is the most pertinent issue. The citizens of the

U.S. play a key role in the reconstruction of the island. Various organizations and groups

have offered donations and sent relief packages to assist the island. It's hard for help to

navigate to the impact zone because there's no clear indication which roads are open or

not. The delayed response of the United States federal government to Hurricane Maria

has had detrimentally impacted the infrastructure and lives of the residents of Puerto

Rico.

Limitations

Time is an underlying factor of the researching process, which makes it difficult for the

author to obtain research about an issue that is ongoing and in the process stages. Time

is also important for FEMA and the impacted residents. The process of rebuilding will

take time and involve a great amount of effort in order for the island to return to

normal.
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The issues in Puerto Rico are ongoing, the island is still in the process of rebuilding,

which limits a great amount of research for various topics revolving around this issue.

The challenge faced by the citizens of Puerto Rico are happening now and news and

updates occur each day involving this topic.

Personal Bias

The author is a U.S. citizen so he is bias towards the U.S. and their views. The author

believes that every citizen of the U.S. should be treated fairly and with respect. The

author believes that the citizens of Puerto Rico were mistreated in the efforts of the

federal government response and also disrespected by the current President of the U.S.

Social media and the news impacts the author’s views and perspectives of what's

happening in Puerto Rico. Social Media helps inform citizens and people around the

world on news and updates of various issues. During Hurricane Harvey and Irma,

twitter and many other different social media were blowing up with updates and ways to

help the victims of those hurricanes. Social media has been muted in the efforts of

bringing awareness to the people about this issue. Social Media has limited the efforts of

citizens of the U.S. to try and help. The author also has friends that have families that

live in regions where hurricanes are more than likely to hit.

Donations Limitations

The author has been involved in local donations for disaster relief. There is a personal

bias towards Puerto Rico because the author has contributed to many other donations
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for countries impacted by natural disasters. Food can drives and fundraisers have been

held to help benefit other countries affected by different natural disasters. The author

have participated in toothbrush drives for the residents living in poor conditions in

Haiti. Participating in donations helped the author realize how helping those in need

can make a great impact on the lives of others, which is a reason why the author is not

very fond of the efforts made by the President of the U.S. and FEMA.

Author Satisfaction Limitations

The author is not satisfied with some of the elected government officials for the U.S.,

because many of the author is not fond of the views and perspectives those individuals

hold. The views of the U.S. current president, Donald Trump has given many reasons of

why individuals and citizens of the U.S. should dislike him. The President’s views on

others is not logical and dehumanizes the citizens of the U.S. Many residents of Puerto

Rico have been unhappy with the comments made by the current president regarding

the efforts to help the island.

Literature Review

The government response in Puerto Rico is nothing compared to the responses for

Hurricane Irma in Florida and Hurricane Harvey in Texas. For Puerto Rico fewer FEMA

personnel are in place and less donations from U.S. citizens have been given to the

island. For Hurricane Harvey, FEMA had supplies and personnel positioned in Texas
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before the storm made landfall on August 25th. FEMA employees and other federal

agencies were sent out within days according to FEMA.

After Hurricane Irma struck Florida, Trump’s visit came just four days after, where he

provided many families with meals. The effect of Hurricane Irma sparked a new wave of

donations to the state. The federal government response efforts of past hurricanes that

have occurred in the states are much greater than the response received in Puerto Rico

which puts the lives of those individuals impacted in great danger.

The U.S. response to other hurricanes were quick and urgent. Not much attention has

been drawn to the region. Many people are forgetting what has happened. Governor

Ricardo Rossello of Puerto rico has criticized President Trump for not paying enough

attention to the situation.

Body

According to AmericanProgress.org (2017), there are currently 5,700 Puerto

Ricans living in shelters and others displaced from their homes. After the storm there

were approximately 16,000 reported homeless Puerto Ricans.

The effects of the hurricane got even worse, with the slow federal government

response. President Donald Trump’s lingering response to the hurricane had a huge

impact on the survival and conditions of the residents in Puerto Rico. President Trump

did not hold a Situation Room Meeting until six days after Hurricane Maria had already
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made landfall. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz criticized the slow federal aid

response than that of Texas and Florida, prompting President Trump to lash out at her

saying Puerto Rico wants “everything to be done for them.” The President's slow

response has indicated that he is putting this issue on the back burner of all problems.

“3.4 million U.S. citizens live in Puerto Rico, and they are entitled to the same

government response as any other state in the U.S.” (Brian Resnick, October 16, 2017).

Trump did not waive the Jones Act, which is a law that permits American ships to load

goods and passengers between the American ports during natural disasters, until eight

days after the storm had hit Puerto Rico which is a very long period of time for residents

to survive without clean water or electricity.

Although there has been a slow federal response to this issue, The Federal

Emergency Management Agency has made many contributions to help the residents of

Puerto Rico affected by the storm. Congress has set up funding for immediate aid,

including housing assistance since many of the homes have been damaged and impacted

by the storm.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is inconsistent with disaster reliefs

and helping those in need and impacted by natural disasters. The federal government

and FEMA failed to respond to the affected residents of Puerto Rico. The federal

response in Houston helped the people living there fight back this natural disaster that

struck down in Texas. FEMA made great efforts in helping the residents impacted by

Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas. FEMA put out a lot of money to help repair that

damages in Houston impacted by Hurricane Harvey. The agency had approved more

than 45,000 applications cover things like temporary rental costs, home repairs and
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uninsured expenses. In comparison, the first blue roof which is a temporary roof

installation that prevents further damage of one’s home, was not installed until October

5th, 15 days after the hurricane hit. In addition, after Hurricane Irma struck down on

Florida, FEMA had already approved approximately 145,000 applications from

residents that were in danger and needed to receive help. The statements mentioned

clearly shows there needs to be an improvement and consistency of the federal response

agencies to help residents affected by hurricanes. Those payouts are normally carried

out a couple days after the disaster hits, which did not occur in Puerto Rico, where the

residents had to wait approximately a week until help arrived. Efforts like these would

greatly impact the lives of Puerto Ricans hit by Hurricane Maria.

Overcoming communication barriers is very key to residents receiving assistance

after being hit by a hurricane. FEMA, once they arrived to help the Puerto Ricans

communicated well with them. 80% of Puerto Ricans do speak english which is very

important. In disaster relief efforts, access to information can mean the difference

between life or death. FEMA must ensure that all vital information such as, food, water,

shelter, safety, medical care and transportation in english and spanish which is a very

difficult job. There is a huge amount of uninsured residents living in Puerto Rico, it’s in

FEMA’s best interest to include Puerto Rico in Medicaid Disproportionate Share

Hospital Program, which requires state Medicaid programs to make payments

qualifying hospitals that serve large numbers of individuals who are uninsured or

covered by Medicaid. This will help ensure that the residents affected by the storm are

receiving the health care they need. The U.S. government should pay 100 percent of all

care provided to Medicaid-eligible Puerto Rican residents for the next 12 months, which
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would include health care for individuals that had disabilities prior to the storm and

those with disabilities in result of the storm. FEMA has worked to overcome

communication barriers but, In 1992, when Hurricane Andrew hit, a few FEMA

personnel that could speak spanish were sent to South Florida, but none of them could

speak Haitian Creole which created a big problem in the assistance for victims. This

language barrier created substantial delays in getting recovery assistance to residents

impacted.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans it took four days for the government to

respond. Monday, August 25, 2005, President George W. Bush signed a $10.4 billion aid

package and ordered 7,200 National Guard troops to the region. A few days later, he

requested to Congress to approve an additional $51.8 billion in aid. Hundreds of

firefighters were sent to Atlanta, where they sat through two days of presentations about

sexual harassments and the history of FEMA before being sent to New Orleans.The

federal response under former President George W. Bush was also blasted by black

Congress members and the NAACP as being slow because the hurricane affected poor

communities. Both Hurricane Maria and Katrina share many similarities besides the

death toll. Slow government responses puts the lives of victims in danger, which denotes

FEMA’s mission of ensuring safety and aid for people.

Trump compares the death toll to Katrina's to show how irrelevant Hurricane

Maria was. His remarks were: “ We've saved a lot of lives. If you look at the — every

death is a horror. But if you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina, and you look at the

tremendous — hundred and hundred and hundreds of people that died. And you look at

what happened here with really a storm that was totally overpowering. Nobody's ever
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seen anything like this. And what is your death count at this point, 17?” Just because

Hurricane Maria did not cause more deaths than Katrina, does not mean the residents

of Puerto Rico should be treated like such.

Hurricane Maria knocked out Puerto Rico’s entire electric grid, leaving residents

without any power. 80 percent of the transmission and 100 percent of the distribution

infrastructure has been damaged. According to U.S. military officials, it could take four

to six months to restore the power to Puerto Rico. There needs to be a way to ensure

safety and aid for the island because that's the job of FEMA anyway. The Department of

Defense, in partnership with the Department of Energy and private companies, should

airlift solar panels and battery packs to create ad hoc microgrids that can provide

emergency electricity.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, millions of people are faced with a

humanitarian crisis. The island is left with people dealing with power outages, no way

to contact loved ones, and many damaged buildings. President Trump stated on October

13, 2017 that, “Puerto Rico has to get the infrastructure going, and the federal

government is helping the island do so.” That is easier said than done, right now many

homes and buildings are down. The governor Ricardo Rosselló is urging Congress to

approve an aid package. The wife of Governor Rosselló created an organization to help

those impacted by the storm.

In order for Puerto Rico to try and get back on track and become productive,

donations such as extension cords, chainsaws, ropes, electric generators, and hammers.
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This will require a lot of money but the more people that become aware of this issue and

help out will determine how long the island will be restored and healthy. The fastest way

to help will be donations of cash. Donations and fundraisers seems like the best solution

to many problems going on in Puerto Rico. Holding canned food drives and getting

charities to reach out can make all the difference in the path Puerto Rico has to take in

order to help the survivors impacted. The more the US and the people wait to help can

affect the conditions and improvements of the island.

After the storm hit Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017 , the aftermath of the

natural disaster has been terrifying.The storm knocks out all of the power in the entire

island and many families are left without access to clean water. Trump says “Their

electrical grid is destroyed” and “it wasn't good to start off with.” The infrastructure in

Puerto Rico was not too good start off with and hurricane Maria made it worst.

Catastrophic events tends to wipe out the infrastructure of an area, as it did in Puerto

Rico. This hurricane was nothing like Hurricane Irma and Harvey where most of the

infrastructure in those areas were still standing. Not only is the infrastructure destroyed

but there was a slow federal response. Puerto Rican officials say that in order to restore

the power it will take 6-8 months which is a very long time without power.

Puerto Rico’s infrastructure was a little shaky before Hurricane Maria hit the

island. The power supply and crushing debt has had a great impact on the damage of the

the island and the various challenges the residents are facing from this horrific

catastrophe.
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The main focus is on Puerto Rico and no other countries because Puerto Rico is a

territory of the US but also is a Spanish speaking country which is different from the US.

The focus of this paper are based on the issues revolving around the Hurricane Maria

that impacted the island's residents and infrastructure. An island that is so close to the

United States should at least be assisted through these difficult and hard times the

island is going through. The author does not want to talk about other countries because

he feels that Puerto Rico is a more important topic to discuss. The island is facing its

worst humanitarian crisis in its modern history. For Puerto Rico being a US territory it's

only right for our country to take action and assist Puerto Rico.

Most of Puerto Rico is without electricity, 75% lack running water, and many of

the resident’s homes and buildings have been completely destroyed. Puerto Ricans are

resilient and are finding creative ways to help them survive. They are coming together to

gather emergency supplies and holding fundraisers to help raise awareness and cope

one another through this hardship. The US Congress and President cannot ignore the

problems the island is dealing with. The Federal Emergency Management Agency have

helped with a good chunk of the damage but many roads, homes, and buildings are in

great need of rebuilding. What will it take to help get the island back on its feet? It is up

to us to help Puerto Rico recover from this Category 4 hurricane, but how will we do it?

We will need to start by holding fundraisers and sending donations to the private sector.

Two months later the residents in Puerto Rico are still struggling to survive,

barely half of the island has power. Many families are fleeing the island to try and get

away because life is so hard and dangerous here right now. Flights are booked until the
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end of the year, which means many more residents are still stuck here with buildings

and homes damaged and no electricity. No electricity means no power to pump water

into homes for people to bathe and flush toilets. As of October 16, 2017, the government

announced municipal water services had been restored for 72% of the residents of the

island. But even still there are many health concerns about the water being used by the

people, which is contaminated water from streams and other sources.

The Army Corps of Engineers are working hard to help repair the damage of the

infrastructure. The main focus is repairing the power poles and wires because many are

damaged, but that will take one at a time which makes this process even longer. The

Army Corps of Engineers have ordered 64,000 light poles and more than 7,200 miles of

cable. The Army Corps of Engineers have played a key role in the rebuilding process of

the island. These group of people have been installing various amounts of blue tarps for

homes and buildings but there are at least 50,000 more damaged roofs in the area. Just

because there is little improvement, the island still has a long way to go.

Conclusion

The slow federal government response impacted the lives of the residents living

in Puerto Rico. Many lives were in danger for a long period of time and continue to be in

danger to this day. The help of disaster relief programs and agencies is essential to the

the protection of the lives of people affected by natural disasters in order to ensure

safety and health. FEMA will need more applications for employees to help when
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situations like this occur. In order for Puerto Rico to rebuild and repair the damage, they

will need a lot of assistance from FEMA. FEMA must have better forms of

communication to ensure the safety of individuals impacted. The safety and health of

citizens affected by natural disasters must be protected by FEMA. For FEMA the goal

should be to provide the residents with different types of materials needed to help them

like, roofs, tools to rebuild.

References

Narayan, C. (2017, September 26). 'Apocalyptic' devastation in Puerto Rico, and little help in
sight. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/us/hurricane-maria-
puerto-rico/index.html?scrlybrkr=d7d588f2
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This article explains how Puerto Rico is affected by hurricane Maria and the damage the
hurricane did to the country. Explains how the government is helping the people affected but a
lot more will need to be done in order for Puerto RIco to get back to where they were.

Analysis | After Hurricane Maria, much of Puerto Rico is still in the dark. (n.d.). Retrieved
October 30, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/national/puerto-rico-
hurricane-recovery/?utm_term=.3a12445da7d8

The article explains how Puerto Rico is damaged and has been dark without any electricity for 40
days. The island has a weak electrical infrastructure due to the effects of the Category 4
Hurricane Maria. The island already had an aging electrical infrastructure, now it will take
months to repair. Many of the residents have had trouble accessing gasoline, food, water, money,
and cellphones so they can contact their loved ones.

Puerto Rico seeks to cancel controversial $300m deal to restore power after Hurricane Maria.
(2017, October 29). Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/29/puerto-rico-
seeks-cancel-controversial-300m-deal-restore-power/?scrlybrkr=6596a02c#

Puerto Rico wants to cancel a contract with a small Montana Company who were willing to help
restore the power in. The government of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello had called for the
contract to be cancelled. They saw that the deal would not help or be reliable to them.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/general/news/2017/10/12/440732/recovering-
hurricane-maria-requires-extensive-federal-response/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-puertorico-trump/puerto-ricans-say-trumps-disaster-
response-was-too-slow-too-clumsy-idUSKCN1C33DN