Officials in Puerto Rico have described conditions there as ‘apocalyptic’ in the wake of Hurricane Maria, with widespread destruction and looting and electricity and cell phone service cut off for much of the island.
On Saturday, Governor Ricardo Rosselló met with more than 50 local mayors and representatives from across the island, who relayed reports of commercial and residential looting, CNN reported.
‘We know a little more today than we did yesterday,’ Rossello said. ‘This is going to be a long road.’
At least 10 people have been confirmed killed by the storm, according to Rosselló’s office.
A house destroyed by hurricane winds is seen in Corozal, west of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The scale of destruction is just now emergint as 95 percent of the island remains without cell phone service
Iris Vazquez washes clothing at an open road drainage ditch in Puerto Rico. Officials describe conditions as ‘apocalyptic’
People affected by the passage of Hurricane Maria wait in line at Barrio Obrero to receive supplies from the National Guard
National Guardsmen arrive Sunday at Barrio Obrero in Santurce to distribute water and food among those affected by Maria
A woman cries after learning about the arrival of the National Guard at Barrio Obrero in Santurce to distribute water and food
On Sunday, Puerto Rico’s nonvoting representative in the US Congress said that Hurricane Maria’s destruction has set the island back decades, even as authorities worked to assess the extent of the damage.
‘The devastation in Puerto Rico has set us back nearly 20 to 30 years,’ said Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez.
‘I can’t deny that the Puerto Rico of now is different from that of a week ago. The destruction of properties, of flattened structures, of families without homes, of debris everywhere. The island’s greenery is gone.’
Engineers on Sunday planned to inspect the roughly 90-year-old Guajataca Dam, which holds back a reservoir covering about 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) in northwest Puerto Rico.
The government said it suffered a large crack after Maria dumped 15 inches (nearly 40 centimeters) of rain on the surrounding mountains and that it ‘will collapse at any minute.’ Nearby residents had been evacuated, but began returning to their homes Saturday after a spillway eased pressure on the dam.
Puerto Rico’s National Guard diverted an oil tanker that broke free and threatened to crash into the southeast coast, said Rossello, and officials still had not had communication with nine of 78 municipalities.
‘This is a major disaster,’ he said. ‘We’ve had extensive damage. This is going to take some time.’
Police officers stand guard at a gas station in San Juan. Local media reported that looting occured in the eastern municipalities of Luquillo, Fajardo and Humacao, where security forces have found it necessary to intervene
Damaged homes and vegetation during the passage of Hurricane Maria, are viewed on a mountain southwest of San Juan
Some areas of San Juan, Puerto Rico (above) remain flooded after Hurricane Maria passed last week
Danger: The Guajataca Dam in Quebradillas, Puerto Rico (above on Saturday) is in danger of failing as it was heavily damaged by rains from Hurricane Maria
The death toll from Maria in Puerto Rico was at least 10, including two police officers who drowned in floodwaters in the western town of Aguada.
That number was expected to climb as officials from remote towns continued to check in with officials in San Juan. Authorities in the town of Vega Alta on the north coast said they had been unable to reach an entire neighborhood called Fatima, and were particularly worried about residents of a nursing home.
Across the Caribbean, Maria had claimed at least 31 lives, including at least 15 on hard-hit Dominica.
Mike Hyland, a spokesman for the American Public Power Association, which represents the Puerto Rican power agency, said Sunday that restoration is a long ways off.
The organization is working with US Energy Department crews as well as New York Power Authority workers sent down by Governor Andrew Cuomo to fly over the island and assess damage.
Crews hoped to get helicopters and drones in the air over the next two days to assess the damage, but Hyland said they need to be patient and let the military continue rescuing people before focusing on restoring power.
‘We are trying to get an understanding of the extent of the damage over the next 48 hours to then begin to work with our federal partners to get the right crews and equipment down to Puerto Rico,’ Hyland said.
Large amounts of federal aid have begun moving into Puerto Rico, welcomed by local officials who praised the Trump administration’s response but called for the emergency loosening of rules long blamed for condemning the US territory to second-class status.
An airplane themed restaurant is seen damaged by mudslides and winds in Barranquitas, southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Hundreds of people wait in line since the morning to buy gasoline three days after the impact of Maria in Puerto Rico
The opening of the island’s main port in the capital allowed 11 ships to bring in 1.6 million gallons of water, 23,000 cots, dozens of generators and food. Dozens more shipments are expected in upcoming days.
The federal aid effort is racing to stem a growing humanitarian crisis in towns left without fresh water, fuel, electricity or phone service.
Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is in charge of the relief effort, said they would take satellite phones to all of Puerto Rico’s towns and cities, more than half of which were cut off following Maria’s devastating crossing of Puerto Rico on Wednesday.
The island’s infrastructure was in sorry shape long before Maria struck. A $73 billion debt crisis has left agencies like the state power company broke. As a result the power company abandoned most basic maintenance in recent years, leaving the island subject to regular blackouts.
A federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances authorized up to $1 billion in local funds to be used for hurricane response, but the governor said he would ask for more.
‘We’re going to request waivers and other mechanisms so Puerto Rico can respond to this crisis,’ Rossello said. ‘Puerto Rico will practically collect no taxes in the next month.’
US and Puerto Rico National guard control the admission and distribution of aid in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday
Inhabitants receive supplies from authorities in San Juan Sunday. Puerto Rico hopes that the arrival of aid from the United States, in the form of food, supplies and technical personnel, will help improve the situation
U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York said she will request a one-year waiver from the Jones Act, a federal law blamed for driving up prices on Puerto Rico by requiring cargo shipments there to move only on U.S. vessels as a means of supporting the U.S. maritime industry.
‘We will use all our resources,’ Velazquez said. ‘We need to make Puerto Rico whole again. These are American citizens.’
A group of anxious mayors traveled to the capital to meet with Rossello to present a long list of items they urgently need. The north coastal town of Manati had run out of fuel and fresh water, Mayor Jose Sanchez Gonzalez said.
‘Hysteria is starting to spread. The hospital is about to collapse. It’s at capacity,’ he said, crying. ‘We need someone to help us immediately.’
Across Puerto Rico, more than 15,000 people were in shelters, including some 2,000 rescued from the north coastal town of Toa Baja. Many Puerto Ricans planned to head to the mainland to temporarily escape the devastation.