Residents of Puerto Rico were disappointed by the response of the government to the devastation left behind by Hurricane Maria. The disaster struck the island with strong winds of more than 150mph and uprooted electric poles, leaving the island without any electricity.
Most parts of the island are still without power, and the people will have to depend on generators until such time S the system is restored.
It is a 1950s vintage setup with maintenance not done regularly. As a result, while power was restored to certain parts of San Juan three times in the last few weeks, the grid kept collapsing.
Texas faced the fury of Hurricane Harvey, and Florida was struck by Hurricane Irma during the same period. Residents of Puerto Rico complain that the response of the government in Texas and Florida was of a high order in comparison to that meted out to them.
The grouse of Puerto Ricans
The New York Times reports that the world today depends on electricity in all walks of life but in the absence of electrical power, people of Puerto Rico had to use candles and gas stoves for cooking.
Some of them have to rely on canned foods.
Hurricane Maria left electrical power transmission lines damaged with poles uprooted and the infrastructure in a shambles. The damage suffered by Texas and Florida from Harvey and Irma were similar. However, repair teams arrived there with a priority to restore the basic services, but Puerto Rico was left to fend for itself.
The disparity is glaring as evident from some figures. It seems more than 5,000 workers from outside the region went to Texas after it was struck by Hurricane Harvey. They restored electricity within two weeks. Florida was devastated by Hurricane Irma, and nearly 18,000 workers helped to bring normalcy back to its essential services.
In contrast, Puerto Rico had to rely on its local crew of less than 1000.
Challenges that face Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rican government was short of funds and wants federal funding to induct more workers for restoration jobs, post-Hurricane Maria. President Donald Trump feels that the administration has done admirable work to respond to the crisis of hurricanes in not only Puerto Rico but also in other parts of the United States.
However, he admitted that the aging power grid of the island was one of its biggest long-term challenges. As an interim measure, large numbers of generators have been provided for electricity necessary to maintain hospitals and other crucial facilities.