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Puerto Rico is so severely damaged by Hurricane Maria that recovery efforts will take months. Most of the ports remain closed as there aren’t enough resources to clear all the damage the hurricane inflicted. Five airports have been opened, but only during the daytime for flights bringing in supplies and personnel for relief efforts. The damage across the entire island is unreal.
Juncos, a town in central Puerto Rico is one example.
Mountains typically brimming with trees and other vegetation are brown and desolate, stripped of all greenery. The mayor of 17 years said he discovered a river he never knew existed in his town, because it was always overgrown with plants. Curved bamboo lining the winding roads were left as bare sticks.
Less than a week ago, Alejandro said, “I had a pretty town.”
“Today I have a desert,” he said.
The entire island desperately needs fuel to keep generators going, water, satellite phones as electricity won’t be back online for weeks, along with food, and medical supplies.
The damage is Loiza is catastrophic. This is one of the poorest towns in Puerto Rico. pic.twitter.com/noM1Ui8p5K
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) September 24, 2017
The damage is so severe government officials can only communicate with FEMA or other US agencies via radio, extremely shaky cell phone connections, or with one of the few working satellite phones they have. Puerto Rico’s governor Rossello’ is still trying to reach the mayors of at least 6 towns in Puerto Rico’s interior.
Another issue those on the island face involves the Guajataca Dam. That dam holds a 2 square mile lake. If it collapses, nearly 700,000 people could be in danger from the flooding that would ensue.
Keep in mind that Hurricane Maria turned most of the harbors, airports, and towns into a rubble filled mess.
People are having to clear roads with machetes because there aren’t enough chainsaws nor fuel to go around.
Food and supplies are being rationed all over the island.
Six commercial cargo ships have delivered supplies including food, water and generators to the Caribbean islands, and more supplies are on the way by ship from Florida and by air from Florida and Kentucky. Among the provisions: The Defense Logistics Agency is sending 124,000 gallons of diesel fuel to Puerto Rico.
Yet, right on cue, the armchair quarterbacks show up and are pointing fingers.
President Trump, Sec. Mattis, and DOD should send the Navy, including the USNS Comfort, to Puerto Rico now. These are American citizens. https://t.co/J2FVg4II0n
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 24, 2017
Yeah sure, Hillary. How about a reality check? There aren’t any places to dock those ships! There are barely enough runways available to allow relief planes to land! Drivable roads? WHERE?
This crap from Chris Hayes doesn’t help either.
No but seriously: what is the US Congress doing on Monday to address the acute humanitarian crisis for 3.5 million American citizens?
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 24, 2017
Sadly for Chris, he gets his butt handed to him by a Puerto Rican journalist.
Seriously: what is @MSNBC doing on Monday to address acute humanitarian crisis for 3.5 million American citizens in PR? Will you be here?
— Armando Valdés (@armandovaldes) September 24, 2017
Saw quite a bit out of the Keys and the rest of Florida…
— Armando Valdés (@armandovaldes) September 24, 2017
And… Mic Drop!
The U.S. Coast Guard has 9 vessels operating in the area. Search and Rescue teams are on the island. Samaritans Purse, Team Rubicon, and the Salvation Army are on the island. At San Juan airport, items such as food, water, ability to get cash out of the ATM’s, and sleeping cots are in short supply. One group of citizens who will be affected the most are the elderly.
The dire straits of so many elderly in Puerto Rico. The hurricane was just the beginning. The real crisis is now. pic.twitter.com/g0G2bpqZoI
— Armando Valdés (@armandovaldes) September 25, 2017
Yet politicians such as Paul Begala, and idiots like Hillary Clinton are already trying to compare the Trump response to what happened with Katrina.
What do millions of people facing disaster in Puerto Rico need to do to get Pres. Trump's attention: take a knee?
— Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) September 24, 2017
Paul, why don’t you hop a plane and try to get onto Puerto Rico to help? Oh wait, you can’t. No one can. Idiot. As for the attention that Puerto Rico needs but isn’t getting? Hey MEDIA!
Sunday morning shows spent less than 60 sec on Puerto Rico, one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in US history:https://t.co/wJXzkM4i85
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 24, 2017
And when they do, they say stupid stuff like, where are the response teams. How come shelters haven’t been set up?
Let’s get a reality check here. First, you have to be able to navigate the areas damaged in a somewhat safe manner. Secondly, to set up shelters, inspection teams are needed to determine if the building is SAFE. Third, all those supplies that everyone needs? So many buildings are damaged, where should they be stored? Not only that, but if you can’t get the supplies to a location even by airdrop, it helps no one!
Yes Hillary, Puerto Rico needs our help. They will need our help for a very long time. But your armchair quarterbacking while ignoring the realities of the situation that island faces is beneath you and does nothing to help those in need.
the left and the media (but i repeat myself) can’t help but be stupid… it’s who they are… It would also seem that many of the issues in PR, some as delineated by the governor when i watched on TV, are / were caused by the fact that the dims have run the island into the group with their proggy policies for the last few decades… that’s why their credit sucks, as well as the infrastructure being so fragile… and somehow i’m guessing that all those socialist calls for PR independence will suddenly get REAL quite, since they want Uncle Sugar to bail them out!
Maybe Hilary will shake loose some Clinton Foundation money to help Puerto Rico? Yeah, in my dreams!
Yeah. No. Righteously finger pointing from a distance is her all she can do. Besides, if I were Puerto Rico, I wouldn’t want Clinton Foundation $$ since everyone knows they did more harm than good in Haiti!
How about a reality check? There aren’t any places to dock those ships!
That’s why there should be Navy amphibs involved. After all, they were prepped and sent to FL for Irma. They are a limited resource, but it seems PR needs them more than FL did.
(Amphibs would provide helicopters, as well as landing craft that can put ashore just about anywhere. They have specific wartime duties involving going into a war-torn port and cleaning it up to dock Navy and cargo ships.)
I’m betting there’s something we’re not seeing. But, it needs to be seen. Or we’ll end up with all the Katrina lies all over again.
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