President Joe Biden inflict Puerto Rico on Monday to survey the damage cause byHurricane Fionalast calendar month . During a speech in the city of Ponce , Biden promised an additional $ 60 million in funding to help the island “ rebuild it all , ” on top of billions of dollars already set by for the island ’s retrieval from hurricanes Irma and Maria .
“ Rebuild it in a resilient way so you don’t — when the storms hail again , which they will , they ’re not having the damage they do before , ” he said . “ Puerto Rico is a stiff office , and Puerto Ricans are strong people . But even so , you have had to bear so much and more than need be , and you have n’t gotten the assistance in a well-timed path . ”
In his speech , Bidenalso announcedthe Puerto Rican Grid Recovery and Modernization team , to be moderate by Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm . The squad will not only sour on repairing the island ’s faulty storage-battery grid as soon as potential but also goad the transition to renewable muscularity . Currentlyonly 3%of the island ’s power come from renewable author . The relief is from petroleum , natural gasoline , and the island ’s undivided ember - fired major power plant , according to the U.S.Energy Information Administration .
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona at the Port of Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 1 March 2025.Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP (Getty Images)
Biden promise $ 60 million to help with the necessary reconstructive memory . The financial backing is come from the 2021bipartisan infrastructure lawto help tone up flood bulwark and better monition systems for future storms that will affect the island . Biden also allege that Puerto Rico was finally going to see “ every single dollar anticipate ” after Hurricane Maria , along with the new support he announced this hebdomad .
There was$2 billionpledged to Puerto Rico from FEMA back in 2018 . The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also approved $ 20 billion for the island ’s recovery after Hurricane Maria , but the Trump administrationstalled the aid , citing political degeneracy in Puerto Rico . The previous governing also put restrictions on that funding , enunciate that the islandhad to submitbudget plan to the mandated fiscal control board . But in 2021 , the Biden administration began to remove those restriction , freeing up billions for infrastructural betterment , The Hill report . This include unlocking access to more than $ 8 billion in funding that was also anticipate to Puerto Rico in 2018 to support future resilience .
Hurricane Fiona do significant terms to Puerto Rico ’s infrastructure when it run into the island last month . abode , vehicles , and road were washed away by the torrential rains and far-flung implosion therapy . official have estimate that Fiona caused about $ 3 billion in damages , but that number could change over time , theAssociated Press reported . The tempest knock out magnate for the entire island the weekend it made landfall in Puerto Rico , and more than 100,000 customers on the island are still without power today , agree toPowerOutage.us . Many communities are still live water outages or low-pitched urine press in their homes .
The damage from Fiona has been amplified by the fact that Puerto Rico has never fully recovered fromHurricane Maria . That violent storm induce the long blackout in U.S. history and the second prospicient in the world . A combination of weak energy infrastructure and high rates of poverty throughout the island made Puerto Rico specially vulnerable to the storm . During his remark , Biden acknowledged that Puerto Rico was not adequately help in the wake of Hurricane Maria and promised to continue supporting the island ’s multitude and local government for secure climate resilience .
A human being wearing a Puerto Rican pin sky paper towel over the fence toward the White House . “ Never blank out , ” he said.pic.twitter.com/tZkalqgB2D
— Samantha Schmidt ( @schmidtsam7)November 7 , 2020
Biden ’s trip had a slightly different tone than the one former President Trump took during his visit after Hurricane Maria . He infamously threw newspaper towel rolls to a crowd of people in pauperization of assist and told the great unwashed who had waited in railway line to take in food to “ have a honest prison term . ”
Hurricane IrmaJoe BidenMariaTropical cyclonesTrumpWeather
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