“God Is All I Have” – One Month In, Puerto Ricans Fight For Survival Amid Sluggish Recovery
A day after President Donald Trump gave his administration’s Puerto Rico response a “10 out of 10” during a White House meeting with the island’s Gov. Riccardo Rossello, a handful of media outlets are reporting that, one month after Maria first made landfall in southeastern Puerto Rico, many villages still don’t have access to electricity, clean water or – in more than a few cases – the outside world.
It was great to have Governor @RicardoRossello of #PuertoRico
with us at the @WhiteHouse today. We are with you! #PRStrong
During his White House visit, Rossello revealed that about 20 percent of the island has service and he has pledged to get that to 95 percent by Dec. 31. For now, though, most of the island’s 3.4 million people are suffering through the sweltering temperatures without air conditioning or basic necessities. Many have resorted to using washboards, now frequently seen for sale along the side of the road, to clean clothes, and sleeping on their balconies and flocking to any open restaurants for relief from daytime temperatures above 90 degrees.
The process of restoring cell phone service has progressed even more slowly. According to figures released by the FCC on Friday, only about 30% of the country’s cell sites have been restored to service. However, the commission is optimistic that the emergency license it granted to Google’s Project Loon could allow the tech giant to restore power even more quickly.
Maria, which left nearly 50 people dead after hammering the island with nearly 160 mph winds and torrential rains that caused at least one dam to fail and triggered flash flooding in the capital city of San Juan, and elsewhere.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
