WASHINGTON, DC —
President Joe Biden headed
to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico on Monday, where he will announce $60 million
in funding to strengthen storm defenses in a US territory whose people have
complained of neglect after past natural disasters.
اضافة اعلان
First Lady Jill Biden accompanied the president on
the trip, with the couple also visiting Florida on Wednesday to see the
devastating damage caused by Hurricane Ian.
Both
Puerto Rico and Florida have suffered
fatalities, widespread power outages, dangerous flooding and grievous property
damage from the recent hurricanes — first Fiona, then Ian.
The Bidens will visit the city of Ponce on Puerto
Rico’s southern coast, where they will meet with families and community leaders
impacted by the storm and help pack food and other supplies for those in need.
“I’m heading to Puerto Rico because they haven’t
been taken very good care of,” the president said as he departed.
“They’ve been trying like hell to catch up from the
last hurricane. I want to see the state of affairs today and make sure we push
everything we can.”
During the visit, Biden is to announce the new
funding “to shore up levees, strengthen flood walls, and create a new flood
warning system to help Puerto Rico become better prepared for future storms,” a
White House official said.
Twenty-five deaths in Puerto Rico have been linked
to Hurricane Fiona, according to the island’s public health department, which
is still investigating how 12 of the fatalities occurred.
The entire US territory lost power and about 1
million people were left temporarily without drinking water, when Fiona — then
a Category 1 storm — hammered the island in mid-September.
Biden declared a state of emergency for Puerto Rico
on September 18.
Island residents, all
US citizens, have complained
of being overlooked by Washington after previous disasters, including the hit
from twin hurricanes, Irma and Maria, in 2017.
Florida, where Hurricane Ian roared on land
Wednesday as a Category 4 storm, is still struggling to assess the extensive
damage, particularly on its southwest coast.
The confirmed death toll from Ian, one of the most
powerful storms ever to hit the US mainland, has soared to at least 58 in
Florida and four in North Carolina with rescuers still searching for survivors
in submerged neighborhoods.
US authorities — federal, state, and local — are
often judged by the effectiveness of their response to such disasters.
After
Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and
the Gulf coast, critics castigated then-president George W. Bush after photos
showed him surveying damage while flying high overhead.
And after then-president Donald Trump, on a visit to
Puerto Rico following storms there, took a basketball-style shot to distribute
rolls of paper towels, the mayor of capital city San Juan called it “insulting”
and “abominable”.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
