Thankfully, it looks like an airstrip is cleared and open. So now just 1 week later much more supplies can arrive in Puerto Rico.
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Donation drives continue throughout South Florida to help victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, as people from the island fly here to escape the harsh conditions back home.
“I feel hopeless,” said Milagros Bonilla after arriving in Miami from her native Puerto Rico. “I don’t have water. I don’t have electricity. There’s no food. I’m legally bind. I was in crisis. And my son went to get me.”
Bonilla is one of the hundreds of people who flew in to Miami International Airport from Puerto Rico to stay with relatives as the country looks to rebuild.
puerto rico relief American Airlines, Local Drives Send Supplies To Puerto Rico
Dozens in Miami come together to aid in relief efforts for Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. (Source: CBS4)
“I can’t be over there. It’s terrible, terrible, a really bad experience,” said Hilda Rodriguez Graniela, who also came to stay with relatives.
For those staying behind, help is on the way. A number of collection drives are taking place throughout South Florida including one in Downtown Miami at a CrossFit gym.
“We are bringing in items for Puerto Rico because there’s a need and the island is devastated and this is a small way we can contribute,” said Jennifer Garcia, who stopped by to donate some items.
American Airlines is holding “Operation Puerto Rico Strong” which allows its employees to send one generator and a box of 150 lbs of supplies free of charge to relatives on the island. Sandra Alvarado, who’s been with the company for 26 years, is sending canned goods, medicine and water to her brother and sister.
“It was like from 7 a.m. all the way to 12 midnight packing the boxes and getting them ready for our family,” said Alvarado.
American Airlines says Operation Puerto Rico Strong continues through Friday. Those supplies are being flown in on a daily basis.
CBS
9/24
PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - The president will head to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands next week to see the devastation from Hurricane Maria.
Many of the island's more than 3.4 million American citizens are still without adequate food, water and fuel. Gas stations, banks, and supermarkets are gradually reopening but there are limited supplies.
Meanwhile concerned Americans, including some here in Philadelphia, are flying in supplies from across the country. An airbus full of donations is getting ready to fly from Philadelphia International Airport to San Juan this morning to help the relief effort.
FOX 29’s Chris O'Connell will be on the flight to Puerto Rico this morning.
9/27
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (CBSMiami) — Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine arrived in Puerto Rico with thousands of pounds of much-needed supplies as the island struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria.
The mayor organized relief efforts and chartered a cargo plane which left Wednesday morning from Opa-Locka Airport with 7,000 pounds of supplies.
“This is a call for help for everybody to do whatever they can to help Puerto Rico. The plane is full with water, food, medical supplies, batteries, stocked full to the gills,” said Levine.
“There is destruction everywhere you look,” said CBS4’s Ted Scouten, who traveled with the mayor.
Levine called the relief effort a race against time, saying it needs to be handled like a military operation.
“This was an invasion. This was an attack against the United States. Maria was the aggressor. Now we need to come in and fight back and we need to do it with what we know is the best we got, the United States military,: he said.
Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, who has been personally wading through flood waters to check on residents, met Mayor Levine on the tarmac and urged others to help.
“It’s a war on devastation and a race against time,” said Mayor Cruz.
She had a direct message for anyone wanting to donate items to Puerto Rico and shared a list of supplies they need which includes:
•Generators
•Food
•Solar-powered items
•Lighting/Flashlights
•Portable Nebulizers
•Bottled Water
•Diapers for adults and children
“This is a humanitarian crisis already, bound to get worse if we do not do what needs to be done and do it quickly,” said Mayor Cruz.
Cruz was grateful for Mayor Levine’s help.
“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Miami has always been there for the world and we’re so thankful that they’re there for us,” said Cruz. “That’s hope wrapped up in a little box, straight from Miami Beach. That’s sunshine.”
Mayor Levine and State Rep. Robert Asencio toured the area of San Juan, taking a look at the damage and distributing some of the items Levine brought over.
The aid from South Florida will be distributed through shelters like the one in San Juan and others around the island.
Both mayors hope more help can be shipped in by the cruise industry, which is now steaming back into port.
“That’s the first one. First one that’s coming back,” Mayor Cruz said with a big smile. “We’re open for tourism in Old San Juan, yes. Yes, we are.”
CBS
9/27
In the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the damage in Puerto Rico is leading some North Carolinians to take action.
Samaritan’s Purse, an international aid organization based out of Boone,
has sent its cargo plane on 11 round trips to the Caribbean in the aftermath of the hurricanes. Kaitlyn Lahm, spokesperson for Samaritan’s Purse, said the plane landed on Sunday with supplies for 6,000 families and returned with more supplies to reach another 1,500 households yesterday.
“It’s a desperate situation on the ground,” she said. “There’s a serious need for clean water, food is becoming scarce and there’s a huge need for shelter because most of the homes have been completely destroyed or, if the walls are still standing, the roofs have blown off because of the high winds.”
Lahm said beyond the thousands of families’ homes that were destroyed, the hurricanes also damaged Puerto Ricans’ livelihoods.
“These islands rely on the tourism industry, which is really nonexistent at this point because of the devastation,” she said. “So while we want to provide that physical relief of shelter, food and water, we also want to come alongside the family and remind them there's still hope and encourage them moving forward.”
Industry losses from Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean are estimated to be between 40 and 85 billion dollars, according to reports by AIR Worldwide. Damage in Puerto Rico alone accounts for more than 85 percent of the loss.
Jamie Ramos, a UNC student from Puerto Rico, said of the hundreds of people she knows on the island, she has only heard from two of her cousins.
“The only reason I’ve heard from them is because they have access to Facebook,” she said. “My other family, I just have no idea where they are.”
Ramos said most people she encounters on campus have little idea of how bad the ongoing situation is.
“The problem is that Irma knocked down the hurricane protection the island had and then Maria hit, so it’s completely catastrophic,” she said. “It’s all I’m thinking about all day and everybody else is just going about their business. It’s so stressful.”
Lahm said Samaritan Purse’s relies on private donations to fund its disaster relief efforts.
“We prepare for these kinds of disasters. We’re constantly watching the storms and watching the weather. That’s what enabled us to be on the ground so quickly after both storms.”
To donate to Samaritan's Purse, visit:
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricane-relief-2017/.
9/27
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, which has devastated Puerto Rico and left much of the island without power or drinking water, Tidal announced today that in partnership with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Empire State Relief and Recovery Effort, it has launched an initiative aimed at filling a 200,000-pound cargo plane full of hurricane-relief supplies to the beleaguered island.
The first plane is expected to leave on October 7 and carry 200,000 pounds of batteries, flashlights, portable lanterns, diapers, baby wipes, cases of water and feminine hygiene products.
The company is calling on the global community to help with the humanitarian crisis affecting Puerto Rico – those in New York can visit one of 19 drop off locations across the state (listed below) to bring supplies; monetary donations are being accepted at TIDAL.com/PuertoRico.
According to a press release, artists including Fat Joe and Romeo Santos along with radio personality Angie Martinez will be at the New York drop off points helping collect, sort and send items that have been donated.
“My heart goes out to every single individual that has suffered as a result of this Hurricane,” said Fat Joe. “Watching from the sidelines has been heartbreaking – let’s fill that plane and help our brothers and sisters! Even the smallest contribution will go a long way.”
Variety
9/28
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