With every hotel in Puerto Rico at capacity, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is trying something new: flying displaced Puerto Ricans to the U.S. mainland, where they will live in temporary housing in New York or Florida.
The island is still reeling from Hurricane Maria, with residents across Puerto Rico living without power and clean water. Through FEMA's Transitional Shelter Assistance program, displaced Puerto Ricans living in shelters will be flown to the mainland, their plane tickets and housing costs covered by FEMA. This is FEMA's first time doing an airlift following a natural disaster — it typically pays for people who can't be in their homes to stay in hotels.
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