One Year Later, Puerto Rico Still Suffers From Hurricane Maria
On This Day In 2018
The devastation was obvious soon after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico. But OTDI 2018, one year later, the situation in PR remained horrific: Nearly 3,000 people had died and tens of thousands were still living under the blue tarps which were supposed to be just temporary roofs.
Over 80% of residents on the island reported major damage to their homes, a loss of power for more than three months, or health and employment issues. Over 90% said that they needed more resources to repair roads and highways.
As for Trump, it seemed clear he hadn’t even understood that Puerto Rico was under his jurisdiction, saying at one point that the island officials “only take from the USA.”
But, as per their obligation, Trump's FEMA did eventually award a $156 million contract to provide 30 million meals for the island after María. However, they only bothered to actually distribute 50,000 of them.
So, perhaps not surprisingly, 80% of Puerto Ricans polled said Trump's overall response was insufficient.
Trump, who has been known to question the results of a poll or two, seemed ignorant of the perception of the job his team had done. Or, perhaps he was fully aware and decided to distort the facts with spin. So, he triumphantly tweeted -- in his Trumpian backhanded style -- that he actually did a "great job in Puerto Rico.”
And, famously, he claimed his task in Puerto Rico was unreasonably complicated because Puerto Rico is “an island..." Well, we'll let him explain these intricate details.
(It must be fun to be Trump…to wake up every day and learn a brand-new fact!)
His poor treatment of PR continued for the rest of his presidency. 3+ years into Trump’s term, The Center for American Progress detailed the “The Trump Administration’s Top 20 Actions That Have Kept Puerto Ricans in Crisis,” including attempting to withhold billions in funds for Maria and additional natural disasters.
Note: More about Trump’s inadequate response to this terrible situation is coming up in Sept 20th’s OTDI.
Dive Deeper
Survey data on the aftermath of the Hurricane
Coverage of Trump’s claim that he did an A+ job
Fact check on Trump’s Puerto Rico brags
Trump’s excuses for the failed recovery
Amnesty International’s findings on the horrific conditions in Puerto Rico, one year after the hurricane