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US President Biden pledges aid to Puerto Rico after hurricane
US President Joe Biden delivers a speech on Hurricane Fiona in the presence of First Lady Jill Biden (2nd from right), Pedro Pierluisi, Governor of Puerto Rico, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. photo
© Evan Vucci/AP/dpa
Puerto Rico was still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Maria when Fiona made landfall. During his visit to the disaster area, the US President now promises support in the millions.
US President Joe Biden pledged support to the people of Puerto Rico after major damage was caused by Hurricane Fiona. The people on the Caribbean island have had to go through so much in recent years and have not always received help in time, said Biden during a visit to the US territory, alluding to the previous government.
“For anyone who survived ‘Maria’, ‘Fiona’ must have been an all too familiar nightmare,” the Democrat said, referring to the devastating hurricane Maria that hit Puerto five years ago. Some of the roads, bridges and houses that have been rebuilt have now been destroyed again. Biden promised, among other things, more than 60 million dollars (around 61 million euros) in new financial aid to better prepare Puerto Rico for future hurricanes.
In 2017, the hurricane “Maria” hit the island with a good three million inhabitants and cost the lives of almost 3,000 people. At that time, Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, was in office. Puerto Rico’s infrastructure was still suffering when the center of Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico as a category one-five hurricane in mid-September. Floods, landslides and destruction occurred. The power supply was also badly affected.
Biden also wants to visit the US state of Florida this Wednesday, where hurricane “Ian” had caused enormous damage in the past few days.