An old woman stands with her dog on her destroyed home in #PuertoRico. She should really try harder to help herself, though. Devin Duke on Twitter.
“The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.
…Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They….
…want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.”
— President of the United States of America 9/30/2017
“I’ve responded to many disasters and many hurricanes — Charley, Frances, Katrina, Rita — and I have yet to see a community with more resilient people as I have seen here. I cannot state that strongly enough.” Gina Smith, Team Leader, National Disaster Medical System, Puerto Rico (quoted on Vox)
How Trump’s golf weekend slowed response to Puerto Rico Chicago Tribune
Did Trump’s $33 million golf course failure add to Puerto Rico’s debt?
Washington Post fact checker says NO
“I can’t believe there are going to be any normal days soon. We are far from normal.” Veronica Ramos, kindergarten teacher in PR. Her story at NY Mag
“It’s romantic to say, Oh, people help each other in Puerto Rico. But I’m sorry, I’m not that romantic. We need help. We need people to work. We need electricity again. We can help each other in the community, okay. But we need the government to work.”
White House limits Congressional travel to Puerto Rico NBC News
“I don’t know if I can keep going.” Weather.Com
Not enough troops, equipment in PR, says general in charge of relief The Hill
Why it will take a long time to restore power New Scientist
Texas and Florida “didn’t completely lose power like Puerto Rico did. When the whole grid goes down, and you have to begin again from nothing, it’s much more complicated.”
This tricky process is called a “black start.” Big power stations need a supply of electricity to start up, which has to come from smaller generators.
How you can help Puerto Rico PBS
Puerto Rico has medical supplies, why must doctors fight for them? CNN
Frustration as supplies for PR sit in Tampa warehouse Tampa Bay Times
Exodus begins with a trickle in Orlando Politico
Heckuvajob in PR Washington Post
Within two days of Haiti’s earthquake, there were 8,000 American troops en route to the island; eight days after Hurricane Maria, just 4,400 service members were participating in efforts in Puerto Rico.
Maria hit 9 days ago. Less than half the PR National Guard is on duty
Washington Post
Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, the top U.S. officer overseeing military operations on the island, attributed this to a combination of factors. Many personnel are dealing with the devastation in their own lives, he said, and some are providing help in their full-time jobs as police, firefighters or other first responders rather than through the Guard.
Risk of a cholera epidemic Wired
“These factors—the presence of the V. cholerae bacterium, poverty, collapsed infrastructure and lack of potable water access—create a toxic mix that could promote cholera outbreaks in Puerto Rico during the coming days and weeks,” writes Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in an article posted Tuesday. “Hurricanes Maria and Irma might indeed be those perfect storms.”
Trump’s framing #PuertoRico disaster as two sides: lazy Puerto Ricans vs. US military heroes. It plays to his base. He’s a disaster. Karen Alexander on Twitter
I have to admit that when a news team is able to get things from A to B and Puerto Rican’s are just standing around. It’s WTF? USA Crew United on Twitter.
Mr POTUS. PLEASE KEEP HILLARY and the rest of the Filthy Clintons OUT OF PUERTO RICO! Your doing a Great Job! Troubled Charlie on Twitter
Praying for Puerto Rico this AM. This shit feels like an alternate reality. Got a guy that should be in a nursing home on meds as president. StylesforPres on Twitter
Now the friggin’ Democrats want to force *us* to pay for *their* corruption by re-building #PuertoRico & import Democrat votes into Florida. White Is All Right on Twitter
Germany, Sweden and now Puerto Rico continue to demonstrate that liberal women are not capable leaders. USA made the right choice. Nelle Beane on Twitter
You are a special kind of asshole @realDonaldTrump, putting blame on the people of Puerto Rico following devastation. You Know It’s Me on Twitter