More than a million people in Puerto Rico lost power Monday after Hurricane Fiona brought 30 inches of rain to the mountainous island, leaving many without running water and causing widespread damage to homes and infrastructure.President Biden Licensed Federal Emergency Management Agency to mobilize and coordinate aid. Governor Pedro Pierluisi has told residents to stay home and stay in shelters.
Fiona has had such devastating effects long before the storm hit land. I will introduce three of them.
The Trump administration has limited aid funding after the island’s last major storm.
In many ways, Puerto Rico is still reeling from the final storm devastation in September 2017 when Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck the island just weeks apart. Maria killed nearly 3,000 of her. It took her 11 months to restore power to all customers in the territory. biggest blackout In the history of the country, based on the number of people affected and their period.
FEMA conducted a massive relief effort in the immediate aftermath of the storm, but federal funding for the island’s long-term recovery was embroiled in political controversy in Congress. The Trump administration has also imposed restrictions on some of the island’s aid out of fear that funds will be mismanaged or wasted. However, he acknowledges that bureaucratic obstacles are hampering recovery projects.
The Biden administration began releasing aid and lifting restrictions shortly after taking office last year, as part of an effort to address racial disparities in the impact of climate change.
The rebuilding of the Puerto Rico government has been slow.
Today, government money is pouring into Puerto Rico, but rebuilding after Irma and Maria is still slow.
As of last month, the island’s government had only used about $5.3 billion, or 19%, of the $28 billion fund FEMA had pledged for restoration projects since 2017, according to the Government Accountability Office. Christopher P. Curry, Principal, said: Homeland Security and Justice Team. Curry said the majority of this spending (81%) was for emergency assistance such as debris removal. Much less has been spent on permanent works such as road and utility improvements.
Mr. Curry testimony Last week, before a House subcommittee on FEMA’s activities in Puerto Rico since Irma and Maria.
Some Puerto Rico local authorities do not have the experience or understanding of federal regulation to manage FEMA’s subsidy program, Curry said. Inflation pushed up the cost of the project. Local governments are having trouble hiring engineers and contractors. Sourcing parts and materials for construction projects is taking a long time due to slowdowns in global supply chains, Curry said.
Ann Bink, deputy administrator of FEMA’s Response and Recovery Office, told the same House subcommittee last week that the agency was ready to help Puerto Rico weather a bigger storm than 2017.
Bink said FEMA is now doubling the number of generators in Puerto Rico, nine times the water, ten times the food, and eight times the number of tarps. The agency has also made it easier for homeowners to receive disaster assistance, she said.
Climate change is causing wet storms.
Scientists will need time to pinpoint exactly how global warming caused by burning fossil fuels affected Hurricane Fiona. In general, however, sea level rise caused by climate change will cause more dangerous storm surges from tropical cyclones. If coastal waters are already rising, storm surges can cause further inland damage. As temperatures rise, more water evaporates from the ocean, and warm air retains more moisture. In other words, storms are likely to bring more heavy rain.
As the earth continues to heat up, scientists say tropical cyclones world average strength. there may be a little less, the scientific model predicts. But each one can take a bigger hit.
Today, scientists are working to understand not only the size and strength of hurricanes, but also how climate change is affecting how they form and where they move. Kevin A. Reeda climate scientist at Stony Brook University.
Studies of past hurricanes suggest that climate change has increased short-term peak rainfall by about 10%.
“If you get two feet of rain, 10% will be a few inches of rain,” said Dr. Reed. “We’re getting more precipitation than ever before.”