Puerto Rico (The United States of America)

Release Number: 307

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico – FEMA has awarded more than $64 million to Puerto Rico to cover costs related to Hurricane Maria.

These awards bring to $4.6 billion the amount of funds obligated under FEMA’s Public Assistance program.

The latest grants approved are as follows:

• More than $44 million to the Puerto Rico Department of Education for debris removal and emergency protective measures.

Who suffers Most from Extreme Weather Events? Weather-related Loss Events in 2017 and 1998 to 2017

The Global Climate Risk Index 2019 analyses to what extent countries and regions have been affected by impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc.). The most recent data available — for 2017 and from 1998 to 2017 — were taken into account.

The countries and territories affected most in 2017 were Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka as well as Dominica. For the period from 1998 to 2017 Puerto Rico, Honduras and Myanmar rank highest.

Alex Rodriguez and the group, Por Los Nuestros, are working to bring clean water to communities in Puerto Rico.

By Lara Cooper November 29, 2018 9:23 am

When Alex Rodriguez learned of the death of a man from his hometown in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, he didn’t see another tally in Hurricane Maria’s human toll. He saw himself.

“I knew where he came from,” Rodriguez said. “He was 27 years old when [he] died, the same age as me when Maria struck.”

Habitat passes 22 million people served in record-setting year providing affordable housing solutions around the world

The nonprofit’s 2018 annual report highlights impact in the U.S. and in more than 70 other countries

PUNTA SANTIAGO, Puerto Rico – Recovery progress is perhaps more obvious here than elsewhere on the island as Punta Santiago sheds the moniker “Apocalypse Beach” locals adopted after Hurricane María.

It was here, a 20-minute drive from where Hurricane María made landfall, the words “Necesitamos agua/comida,” or “We need water and food,” were chalked onto the asphalt. An image of this desperate call for help made national news.

BY: HEATHER GIES | OCTOBER 29, 2018

Even before Hurricane Maria devastated the island back in September 2017, Puerto Rico already imported 85 percent of its food. Local farming declined decades ago amid U.S.-led industrialization on the island, following a shift away from diversified small-scale farms to plantation agriculture. An ailing economy, austerity, and the fact that 44 percent of Puerto Ricans lived below the poverty line all deepened household food insecurity.

Release Number:
291

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico – FEMA has awarded nearly $46 million in additional grants to cover Hurricane María-related expenses. These awards bring the total amount of funds obligated under the agency’s Public Assistance program to $3.9 billion.

The grants approved are distributed as follows:

• Nearly $14.4 million to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and Wisconsin Electric Power Company for emergency protective measures

Release Number: NR 284

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico – FEMA has awarded nearly $56 million in grants to cover Hurricane María-related expenses. The funds cover costs for emergency protective measures and debris removal.

Emergency protective measures are actions taken to eliminate or lessen immediate threats either to lives, public health or safety, or significant additional damage to public or private property in a cost-effective manner.

The grants approved are allocated as follows:

Debarati Guha-Sapir, professor, Francesco Checchi, professor

Science must prevail

Last year Hurricane Maria slammed into the island of Puerto Rico, devastating the island. With 150 mph winds and up to 20-30 inches of rain, the entire island lost power and many homes were destroyed, affecting more than 3 million people.

ANNIVERSARY OF LAST YEAR’S HURRICANE HEIGHTENS PREPAREDNESS FOR 2018

The effects of last year’s hurricanes are still reverberating throughout the Caribbean and Gulf Coast region. The roll call of the devastation was sobering but was a clarion call for NetHope and its members and partners to increase our collective efforts to be prepared for the coming hurricane season, which has already begun to assert itself.

By Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International

20 September 2018, 12:21 UTC

As we mark the first anniversary of Hurricane Maria, the experience of Puerto Ricans shows that the biggest threat to humanity is not climate change itself – but politicians who ignore it and refuse to keep us safe.

Efforts Focus on Restoring and Improving Early Learning and Education Programs, Helping Children Emotionally Heal, Building Resilience, Preparing for Next Emergency

Release Number:
NR 280

BAYAMÓN, Puerto Rico – Ilia González had to make some tough decisions in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane María’s landfall a year ago. Chief among them: whether to leave her home and support network in Barrio Santa Olaya and give up her job.

Gonzalez registered with FEMA for disaster assistance and today is living in an apartment while the home María destroyed is being rebuilt. Both her home and the temporary apartment were paid for by two FEMA programs, and Gonzalez still has her job.

Reviving tourism and agriculture is critical for the island’s economic recovery following last year’s hurricane

Mangkhut Today, Maria Yesterday

In recent years we have begun working closely with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to help prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies in the Caribbean region. We collaborated around the responses to Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and last week’s Tropical Storms.

by Christiana Smyrilli, Pamela Silva, Lenulisy Rosado, and Martha Thompson

Executive Summary

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico – FEMA has awarded the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency, Electric Power Authority and the Municipality of Rio Grande $49.3 million to cover Hurricane Maria-related expenses.

The grants approved are distributed as follows:

MAUNABO, Puerto Rico – Throughout Puerto Rico, voluntary organizations are addressing the disaster-related unmet needs of survivors of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

More than 100 local and national voluntary organizations are helping Hurricane María survivors by cleaning and repairing damaged homes so they are safe and sanitary, and providing additional services to storm survivors to assist with their recovery.