The federal government will bankroll all storm recovery efforts in Puerto Rico for a month, President Biden announced Thursday, as the island continues to reel from Hurricane Fiona’s direct hit last weekend.
“I’ve authorized 100% — 100% federal funding for debris removal, search and rescue, water restoration and shelter and food for the whole month,” the president told reporters at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s regional headquarters in downtown Manhattan before a closed-door storm briefing.
Biden was joined for the briefing at FEMA’s One World Trade Center offices by Mayor Adams and Gov. Hochul, both of whom allocated city and state resources for recovery efforts in Puerto Rico earlier this week.
Hochul’s administration dispatched 100 state troopers to the island, while Adams has sent a smaller team of emergency responders, including members of the NYPD, to help out.
Hochul and Adams did not speak during the brief public portion of Thursday’s briefing.
Biden said it’s incumbent on his administration to have Puerto Rico’s back, given that many residents of the U.S. territory still haven’t fully recovered from 2017 s Hurricane Maria, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
“To the people of Puerto Rico who are still hurting from Hurricane Maria five years later, they should know that we are with you,” he said. “We’re not going to walk away. I mean it.”
Fiona struck Puerto Rico with tremendous force on Sunday, dumping upward of 30 inches of rain over the course of hours, leaving entire sections of towns submerged in water.
The storm also knocked out electricity across Puerto Rico, and many parts of the island remained without power Thursday. Four Fiona-related deaths have been reported on the island.
The storm has also slammed into the Dominican Republic and was on track to hit Bermuda late Thursday.
Fiona is not projected to slam into New York, but could bring life-threatening surf and rip tides locally over the weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm is expected to barrel out over Nova Scotia and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada on Saturday or Sunday, projections show.
(C)2022 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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The left is purposely trying to destroy this country
ALL because they wanna usher in their COMMUNIST Utopia.
I want 100% of my expenses covered because of the inflation and immigration disasters
WE americans don’t matter… Unless you’re a criminal it seems.
Being a former owner of an infrastructure bond for Puerto Rico, which I sold because the government there is so corrupt it makes NY or California seem legal. I do not believe for one moment the government and the educated that make up the higher echelon even give a hoot about their citizens and now we are supposed to help the people of Puerto Rico? I think clean out that government first and take over so that the people can be helped. I am sure they will help build and fix their infrastructure given the chance that wasn’t given them. This is another waste of our money and a ridiculous plan. Remember all the water, Goya food, behind the mayor of San Juan with her ‘we are dying’ T-shirt on. Where the heck did that T-shirt get made and why did she film in front of all that food?
Do you remember the film footage from those news cameras down there, after that one hit PR in 17/18, when TRUMP SENT MILLIONS IN FOOD AID down, ubt the mayor(s) HORDED IT in those warehouses, so folks would be seen as starving??
This is like paying someone to rebuild their grass shack in an annual flood zone.
The only institution geared to handle such a task as managing these funds (taxpayer money) to the Democrat standards is The Clinton Foundation..
This is why i often say, if someone lives/rebuilds in a KNOWN TORNADO or Flood zone, after having their home destroyed TWICE IN A ROW by a tornado/hurricane, THEY SHOULD BE ON THEIR BLOODY OWN. No federal handouts to rebuild. GET INSURANCE or tough luck.
We have never received answers on what happened to the last Batch of $millions of dollars that were sent to P.R. for their last disaster!