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For Puerto Rico, the Return to Business as Usual is Slow

Mon, 2018-03-19 08:07 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

In Humacao, a city on the eastern coast just north of where Hurricane Maria’s eye passed, power poles and lines still litter the ground in some areas. PHOTO: ARIAN CAMPO-FLORES/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Six months after Hurricane Maria, as many as 7,000 of the island’s small businesses remain closed

wsj.com - by Arian Campo-Flores - March 19, 2018

 . . . Though economic activity in Puerto Rico has picked up in recent months, businesses large and small are struggling. Electricity woes continue to plague the island, where 91% of power generation has been restored but the grid is prone to sudden outages. Insurance money has arrived slowly, with $1.7 billion paid in residential and business claims as of Jan. 31—about 40% of the expected total, according to the island’s Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.

And the market is shrinking as a result of an accelerating exodus of Puerto Ricans fleeing conditions on the island.

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FEMA Contract Called for 30 Million Meals for Puerto Ricans. 50,000 Were Delivered.

Tue, 2018-02-06 21:46 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

Residents of San Isidro, P.R., waited for food and water in October. Credit Erika P. Rodriguez for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by PATRICIA MAZZEI and AGUSTIN ARMENDARIZ - February 6, 2018

The mission for the Federal Emergency Management Agency was clear: Hurricane Maria had torn through Puerto Rico, and hungry people needed food. Thirty million meals needed to be delivered as soon as possible.

For this huge task, FEMA tapped Tiffany Brown, an Atlanta entrepreneur with no experience in large-scale disaster relief and at least five canceled government contracts in her past. FEMA awarded her $156 million for the job, and Ms. Brown, who is the sole owner and employee of her company, Tribute Contracting LLC, set out to find some help.

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Video - Amid Promises of Aid, a Puerto Rico Still in Ruins

Wed, 2018-01-03 22:11 — Kathy Gilbeaux

The New York Times - By DEBORAH ACOSTA and NATALIE RENEAU - October 3, 2017

President Trump said Puerto Ricans should be proud of the low death toll after Hurricane Maria. But a tour of the island by Times reporters showed that vast humanitarian and logistical challenges remain.

https://nyti.ms/2yHr8K3

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UN - Dominica: Hurricane Maria Situation Report No. 12 - Corrigendum (as of 30 November)

Mon, 2017-12-04 09:31 — Kathy Gilbeaux

This report is produced by the United Nations in collaboration with humanitarian partners in Dominica. It covers the period from 16-29 November 2017. The next report will be issued on or around 15 December 2017. 

Dominica: Hurricane Maria Situation Report No. 12 - Corrigendum (as of 30 November) - (10 page .PDF report)
https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20170112_situational_report_no.12_final.pdf
 
Sector meeting notes and meeting schedules are posted on Humanitarian Response Info
 
 
 
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Re-energizing the Island: Power in Puerto Rico

Sat, 2017-11-25 11:21 — Kathy Gilbeaux

                                                    CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE

           

http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/USA-PUERTORICO-POWER/010051M33MM/USA-PUERTORICO.jpg

The primary transmission lines that criss-cross Puerto Rico are steadily coming back online following Hurricane Maria, with several different contractors responsible for bringing back power.  The island lost all of its power after the storm; it still has a goal to restore 95 percent of power by the middle of December.

Sources: Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority; company reports

C Chan, S DiSavino 6/11/2017

ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - New Puerto Rico utility head, same old challenges

 

 

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Hurricane Maria Has Made Puerto Rico the Land of Opportunity for Solar Power

Tue, 2017-11-14 10:40 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

Leaning on the lines.(Raquel Pérez Puig for Quartz)

qz.com - by Ana Campoy - November 11, 2017

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Seven weeks after hurricane Maria, the traffic lights are still down in San Juan. The narrow, cobbled streets of the city’s historic center, one of the island’s top tourist attractions, turn pitch black as soon as the sun sets. With appliances useless during the blackout, many of the city’s residents can’t cook, store food, or take a real shower.

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Power Line Fails; Darkness Returns to San Juan

Fri, 2017-11-10 07:53 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

A main power line failed Thursday in Puerto Rico, plunging several cities, including San Juan, into darkness. Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Frances Robles - November 10, 2017

SAN JUAN, P.R. — A main power line that serves the northern half of Puerto Rico failed Thursday, knocking out electricity to seven cities that had only recently regained service and dealing a major setback to the island’s desperate efforts to regain normality.

Seven weeks after Hurricane Maria completely disabled Puerto Rico’s power grid, the island was generating just 18 percent of its electrical capacity, returning service to where it had been two and half weeks ago. On Thursday morning, the island had been at about 43.2 percent of capacity.

The disruption also me ant that many people no longer had running water, because pumping stations are powered by electricity.

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Puerto Rico's Storm of Misery

Wed, 2017-11-08 08:16 — Kathy Gilbeaux
       
 
Devastation in Puerto Rico - CBS News
 
cbsnews.com - by Steve Kroft - November 5, 2017
 
Many Puerto Ricans have endured the longest blackout in American history following a direct hit from Hurricane Maria. Due to a multitude of factors, some say the lights won't be coming back on anytime soon.
 
It's safe to say that of all the places in the country, the one that is suffering the most right now is the hurricane-ravaged island of Puerto Rico . . . For the past 46 days, most of them have been without power, the longest blackout in American history. FEMA says it has distributed more food and water there than any disaster its ever been involved in.
 
 
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US Lawmakers Investigate Firm's Contract to Help Restore Puerto Rico's Power

Fri, 2017-10-27 18:21 — Kathy Gilbeaux

       

Workers from Montana-based Whitefish Energy Holdings help fix Puerto Rico’s power grid. Photograph: Alvin Baez/Reuters

CLICK HERE - NPR - Here's What's In That $300 Million Whitefish Contract

Multiple congressional committees seek information on $300m deal awarded to Whitefish Energy Holdings, tiny company in interior secretary’s hometown

theguardian.com - October 26, 2017

Multiple congressional committees are investigating a $300m contract awarded to a small Montana company in the hometown of the interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, that was tapped to help restore Puerto Rico’s damaged power grid.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority awarded the contract to tiny Whitefish Energy Holdings to restore transmission and distribution lines damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Maria. The two-year-old company had just two full-time employees when the storm hit last month.

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Federal Harvey Relief Funds Might Take Years, Officials Tell Legislators

Thu, 2017-10-12 10:52 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

Flood damaged debris piled outside of homes in Port Arthur Texas. The city saw 47 inches of rain during the storm. - Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune

texastribune.org - by Brandon Formby - October 2, 2017

 . . . state lawmakers were told that Housing and Urban Development disaster relief funds, which includes money for extensive home repairs or rebuilds, could take seven to 32 months to work their way through bureaucratic processes and several layers of government agencies . . . Congress approved $7.4 billion in HUD disaster relief funds last month. But that may have to be shared with Florida and Puerto Rico, which have each been hit by hurricanes in the weeks after Harvey battered Texas, unless legislators approve another aid package . . .

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