Hurricane Maria ripped roads apart, uprooted trees, pulled walls and metal roofs off homes, and devastated the ailing island of Puerto Rico.
We've all seen the images of the aftermath, but the real story is now about survival. Ten days after the storm hit, millions need to survive deteriorating conditions.
In storm-battered neighborhoods across Puerto Rico, aid hasn't come quickly enough and hasn't been sustained.
Puerto Ricans are dying. Americans are dying.
Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, credited with turning around the Bush administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina, weighed in on the crisis, “Puerto Rico is a bigger and tougher mission than Katrina, and we had 20,000 federal troops, 20 ships, and 40,000 National Guard.” The island’s most pressing needs include fuel to run hospitals or potable water to drink. Honoré says, “You need at least 50 to 80 helicopters in there.”
In contrast, only 4,400 federal troops have been deployed to Puerto Rico as of September 29th.
The 3-star general appointed to the crisis, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, says there are not enough troops and vehicles sent to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.
President Trump, deploy 50,000 federal troops to the island and 80 helicopters to distribute fuel, water, and emergency supplies.
Give our troops the resources they need to be successful in Puerto Rico.
Help them save millions of American lives.
To be clear. The Trump administration has not stepped up yet, which is reminiscent of the days following Katrina — 10,000 federal workers is not enough. Puerto Rico was destroyed, and the effects are on a larger scale than Katrina.
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz on September 29th urged Trump to ramp up the federal assistance. "This is, damn it, this is not a good news story. This is a ‘people are dying’ story. This is a ‘life or death’ story. This is ‘there’s a truckload of stuff that cannot be taken to people’ story. This is a story of a devastation that continues to worsen.”
No more excuses about it being 1,200 miles away from the mainland.
What matters most is how you respond in the days to come.
The ball is in your court, Mr. President. We're asking for you to do more. Not just today, but tomorrow, and the next day until we fix this together.
Puerto Ricans are not them or they — we're Americans who need help.
