Biden Pledges More Federal Help for Puerto Rico

Voice of America
23 Sep 2022, 02:05 GMT+10

Washington - The U.S. government is sending money and personnel to Puerto Rico to help the territory in the Caribbean recover from Hurricane Fiona, which has reportedly killed eight people on the island.

The destructive storm devastated Puerto Rico's fragile power grid, blacking out the island, which is home to 3 million people.

During a visit Thursday to the New York City office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, President Joe Biden received a briefing and announced more help is on the way.

Photo Gallery:

Hurricane Fiona Aftermath

"Too many homes and businesses are still without power, without clean drinking water," Biden said. "Yesterday at the governor's request I immediately approved an expedited major disaster declaration to provide individual and public assistance to help people and communities recover from [the hurricane] and this declaration is going to, well, get federal resources there quickly. And it's going to help people start rebuilding their lives."

The federal government for the next month, according to the president, will fully cover the cost of debris removal, search and rescue operations and power and water supply restoration, as well as for temporary shelters and food.

Puerto Rico has still been struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria five years ago. That storm killed 3,000 people and left the entire territory without electricity for a week.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Barbados Bulletin.

More Information

null in null

World

Section

Methionine Restriction Could Extend Lifespan, Boost Health

VILNIUS, Lithuania – A growing body of research suggests that selectively restricting a single nutrient in our diet could have profound...

Western Sydney raid results in seizure of $25 Million in drugs

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - , Australian Federal Police (AFP) have shut down a secret drug lab in Sydney's west and seized more than 100kg...

Israel agreed to finalise 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, says Donald Trump

Washington DC [US], July 2 (ANI): United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) said that Israel has agreed to the necessary...

"We're going to have a deal": Trump on India-US trade talks, says "much less tariffs" will make both sides competitive

Washington DC [US] July 2 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) reaffirmed that India-US will soon strike a trade...

Daily World Briefing, July 2

U.S. Senate passes Trump's landmark mega-bill The GOP-led Senate on Tuesday passed U.S. President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful...

U.S.-WASHINGTON, D.C.-WHITE HOUSE-TRUMP-GAZA-CEASEFIRE

(250701) -- WASHINGTON, July 1, 2025 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press at the White House in Washington,...

Caribbean

Section