What about Puerto Rico?

I'm sorry - I hope you hear from him soon. How badly impacted was his area? Seems that some parts of the island were hit worse than the others.

Most people I know who are from Puerto Rico or have other ties there, had to wait days (or are still waiting) to hear from loved ones, which is horrible. 

I've seen an uptick in Puerto Rico posts on my Facebook feed and lots of links for charities to donate to, so I hope the story is gaining traction. 

Thank you They have a limited relationship so we don't know a lot. But as he's aged FIL has called more often. He is more inland but since most of the island still doesn't have power we do realize it will take a while to hear. Just crossing our fingers he is ok.

So since he was quite familiar with PR you would think he would know it's part of the US and figure out how to Get them anything necessary. Yes it's a big ocean but we have lots of big boats and ways to get food and supplies to them. Sorry but hearing the big ocean statement just really annoys me. 

WASHINGTON – Federal and military aid for Puerto Rico increased Tuesday, including news that the hospital ship Comfort would be deployed, as officials got a clearer picture of the obscene destruction Hurricane Maria wrought on the U.S. territory.

What federal officials visiting the island have found: 42 percent of Puerto Rico’s population is without drinking water. Eighty percent of the island’s electrical transmission system ― its substations and transmission lines ― and 100 percent of its distribution system was damaged by the storm, said Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.

As of late Tuesday, 21 of Puerto Rico’s 69 hospitals had some functionality. The remaining 48 hospitals had an unknown status, Davis said.

The U.S. government is now increasing its response to the storm and naming a commander to lead the military effort.

U.S. Northern Command announced late Tuesday it would identify “and the Joint Staff will source, a larger sustainment force package” to expand aid to the island. In addition, NORTHCOM is going to “establish a Land Component Commander - Forward in Puerto Rico and will have that commander on the ground there within 24 hours.”

On Tuesday, Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Brock Long told reporters at the White House that it was dispatching the Navy hospital ship Comfort, a converted super tanker with 1,000 beds, 12 operating rooms, a CAT-scan, and radiology capabilities to Puerto Rico.

On Tuesday the Navy said it would have the Comfort underway within the next 96 hours.

The top priorities of deploying the Comfort are “to minimize suffering and protecting the lives and safety of those affected by Hurricane Maria,” Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Allen, a spokesman for U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said Tuesday. “Moving the USNS Comfort is a prudent decision in light of current conditions on ground. We will make best possible speed and anticipate it will take up to five days to transit to the area upon departure from Naval Station Norfolk.”


Federal Response Teams Assisting in Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands

Release date:
September 24, 2017
Release Number:
HQ-17-138
WASHINGTON – In the wake of Hurricane Maria, life, personal safety, and access to safe shelters for disaster survivors remain a priority of local responders, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the entire federal family.

To aid in life sustaining missions, six FEMA Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) task forces are deployed to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and are working in tandem with numerous federal partners to rescue and render aid to distressed survivors in the region. Additional FEMA US&R task forces are arriving today to expand operations, as areas become accessible. FEMA US&R task forces currently conducting operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands include Virginia Task Forces 1 and 2, Florida Task Forces 1 and 2, and California Task Forces 6 and 7. Components of New York Task Force 1 and Massachusetts Task Force 1 are on the ground providing logistics support.

Federal partners assisting with Search and Rescue (SAR) missions include the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the U.S. Department of the Interior / National Park Service.

Collectively, these federal agencies have rescued 180 individuals and searched more than 45 structures in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

five men in uniform stand around the hood of a car and look at a piece of paper

FEMA Urban Search and Rescue task force members meet with local officials on St. Croix to coordinate search and rescue operations.

The U.S. Coast Guard is operating nine cutters in the vicinity of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, bringing helicopter SAR support, while teams from CBP are operating two P-3 maritime patrol aircraft to assist in communications, a wide-area search, and distress signal monitoring capabilities. An additional five flight deck-equipped cutters, five patrol boats, four rotary wing, and one fixed wing aircraft are moving to the vicinity of U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to further support search and rescue efforts.

While US&R teams continue targeted sweeps of the affected areas, teams from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management are providing security and force protection to rescuers.

Department of Defense support includes helicopter SAR flights, damage assessment flights, beach assessments, and patient evacuation flights flown from the amphibious ships USS Kearsarge and USS Oak Hill and Marines embarked from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

FEMA US&R teams are organized under the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System, which partners federal, state and local partner emergency response teams to create 28 US&R task forces. These 28 task forces are located throughout the continental United States and can be activated to provide assistance in survivor rescue, damage assessment, and SAR in a water environment. The task forces deployed consist of multi-faceted, and cross-trained personnel who service in major functional areas to include: search, rescue, medical, hazardous materials, logistics, and planning. A task force also includes technical specialists, such as physicians, structural engineers, and canine search teams.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the DoD conducted medical evacuations for more than 100 patients from the islands to the continental United States.

The National Guard Bureau (NGB) has more than 2,300 Guard members on the ground in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands taking part in security and support operations. The Air National Guard is focused on transporting food, water, and communications capabilities as well as rapidly increasing airlift into affected areas.

FEMA, working in coordination with federal partners, provided more than 1.5-million meals, 1.1-million liters of water, nearly 300 infant and toddler kits, and nearly 12,000 emergency roofing kits to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico for distribution to the public since Hurricane Maria’s landfall.