Hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico continues to sound the alarm as mainland America's attention turns to other things
Authorities in Puerto Rico are warning that Hurricane Maria has set the country back decades, with Gov. Ricardo Rossello stressing to The Washington Post that "we can't start overlooking us now that the storm passed, because the danger lurks." Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez added to The Associated Press that "the devastation in Puerto Rico has set us back nearly 20 to 30 years."
Over the weekend, evacuees from a damaged dam in the territory's northeast began to return home because easing pressure on the infrastructure with a spillway apparently averted a potential crisis. Uncertainty about the situation in other parts of the island remains, though, with Rossello telling the Post on Sunday that he has yet to hear from six mayors in municipalities in the southern region.
Officially the death toll in Puerto Rico is 10 people, but there is concern that number could rise as communication with remote parts of the island returns. "Hysteria is starting to spread," said Manati Mayor Jose Sanchez Gonzalez. "The hospital is about to collapse. It's at capacity. We need someone to help us immediately."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We are U.S. citizens that just a few weeks ago went to the aid of other U.S. citizens even as we're going through our fiscal downturn and as we were hit by another storm," added Rossello. "Now, we've been essentially devastated. Complete destruction of the power infrastructure, severe destruction of the housing infrastructure, food and water are needed. My petition is that we were there once for our brothers and sisters, our other U.S. citizens, now it's time that U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico are taken care of adequately, properly."
Critics of the Trump administration are quick to point out that the president spent his weekend tweeting about the NFL while not once addressing the crisis in Puerto Rico. More than 3 million Americans live on the island.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
The Week Unwrapped: Are we any closer to identifying UFOs?
Podcast Plus, will deals with Tunisia and Kurdistan help Labour? And what next for the Wagner Group?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 16 - 22 November
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures Firing shells, burning ballots, and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US Published
-
Biden visits Amazon, says climate legacy irreversible
Speed Read Nobody can reverse America's 'clean energy revolution,' said the president, despite the incoming Trump administration's promises to dismantle climate policies
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
At least 95 dead in Spain flash floods
Speed Read Torrential rainfall caused the country's worst flooding since 1996
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cuba roiled by island-wide blackouts, Hurricane Oscar
Speed Read The country's power grid collapsed for the fourth time in just two days
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%
Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Floridians flee oncoming Hurricane Milton
Speed Read The hurricane is expected to cause widespread damage in the state
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Beryl kills 4, knocks out power to 2.7M in Texas
Speed Read Millions now face sweltering heat without air conditioning
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
EPA limits carcinogenic emissions at 218 US plants
Speed Read The new rule aims to reduce cancer-causing air pollution in areas like Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published