CAROLINA, Puerto Rico — Inside the steamy San Juan airport, mothers sleep on the floor with their children. Travelers, many of whom have been there for days, fan themselves as they wait for a flight out.
The lines are long and there is no air conditioning, but after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans are eager to just get out — and the island's governor fears many will not return.
Related: Lawmakers Press White House to Step Up Aid to Puerto Rico
"My expectation is to rebuild stronger than ever," Gov. Ricardo Rossello told NBC News. "But clearly if this is not taken seriously ... Puerto Rico is going to collapse into a humanitarian crisis."
Saddled with a ballooning debt crisis, Puerto Rico has already seen a historic migration of about half a million people from the island in the past 10 years. Now, following the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. territory in decades, the outflow is sure to hasten.
#1: XDMAR To: All (#0)
XDMAR posted on 2017-09-27 05:49:39 Reply Private Reply
#2: Tooconservative To: XDMAR (#0)
They are, however, somewhat more likely to end up in Blue states like NY where there are large established PR communities and they already have family and friends and more PR culture.
Trump should have done more but resources are stretched thin across vast coastal areas on the southern coast. Key states like Texas and Florida have also been hit and they are nearer to major FEMA resources and considered more vital to the economy and therefore to pols. So PR may be coming up on the short end of the stick because the resources already were going to the earlier hurricane recovery efforts on the mainland.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-09-27 06:51:21 Reply Private Reply