Puerto Rico Needs Another $50b for Rebuild, FEMA Says
David Wagman | April 10, 2018
The administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says it will take up to an estimated $50 billion to help rebuild Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, and warned that the U.S. territory is not ready for another disaster.
The Associated Press reports that Brock Long said his agency aims to make the island’s roads, homes, bridges and electrical grid as strong as possible. The 2018 hurricane season starts June 1.
In a related move, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will provide additional resources to further support emergency power restoration by increasing the value of an existing contract.
The additional FEMA funds raise the PowerSecure Inc., contract amount by $140.5 million. The contract was originally awarded Oct. 19, 2017. Additional funds bring the total amount of the contract to $510.6 million and enable continued restoration efforts into May.
The increase in funds will allow PowerSecure Inc., to maintain personnel, equipment and materials on the island, in order to continue the repair of hurricane-damaged electrical lines particularly in the hardest-hit and most remote areas. PowerSecure was acquired by Southern Company in 2016.
FEMA is also coordinating a June 14 planning and training exercise with Puerto Rico’s government in which life-saving supplies will be delivered to the island’s 78 municipalities to ensure better response times for any upcoming storms.
The AP says that FEMA and local government officials already have stockpiled more than 15.6 million liters of water and more than 2.8 million meals in five warehouses across the island in the event of another disaster. FEMA also approved more than $53 million in community disaster loans for 12 of the island’s 78 municipalities.
The municipalities that will benefit from the Community Disaster Loan Program are: Bayamon, Caguas, Humacao, Juncos, Ponce, Río Grande, Sábana Grande, Salinas, San Lorenzo, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto and Yabucoa. Another 65 municipalities are in different stages of the application process.
More than 50,000 power customers remain without electric power, the AP says, but around 96 percent of all customers now have electricity.