The facts:
Monday, September 18, as a Category 5 storm with winds topping 160 mph - the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall there. Days later, the storm devastated the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
The US government says it is committed to helping Puerto Rico but is confronted with challenging circumstances, including some roads that are narrow, muddied and impassable for large aid-delivery vehicles. There also are pre-existing problems with power and water systems. Puerto Rico is "an island sitting in the middle of an ocean ... a very big ocean," as President Donald Trump said on September 26, making Hurricane Maria more distant than two other recent storms that hit the US mainland, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. After traveling the island for three days, however, and conducting interviews with residents and federal officials and experts, it's clear the level of suffering is far outpacing relief.
Much of the island feels as if it were hit by a storm yesterday, not one month ago. Mountains are covered in branchless trees, stuck in the dirt like the walking sticks of giants. Power lines are tangled about like spaghetti dropped from the sky.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/21/world/iyw-help-victims-of-hurricane-maria/index.html
- Category 5 hurricane
- Happened September 16, 2017 - October 3, 201
- Official death toll is 55, but could be much higher
- Areas affected: Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Dominican Republic
Monday, September 18, as a Category 5 storm with winds topping 160 mph - the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall there. Days later, the storm devastated the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
The US government says it is committed to helping Puerto Rico but is confronted with challenging circumstances, including some roads that are narrow, muddied and impassable for large aid-delivery vehicles. There also are pre-existing problems with power and water systems. Puerto Rico is "an island sitting in the middle of an ocean ... a very big ocean," as President Donald Trump said on September 26, making Hurricane Maria more distant than two other recent storms that hit the US mainland, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. After traveling the island for three days, however, and conducting interviews with residents and federal officials and experts, it's clear the level of suffering is far outpacing relief.
Much of the island feels as if it were hit by a storm yesterday, not one month ago. Mountains are covered in branchless trees, stuck in the dirt like the walking sticks of giants. Power lines are tangled about like spaghetti dropped from the sky.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/21/world/iyw-help-victims-of-hurricane-maria/index.html