Tag: Hurricane Maria

DNC on Anniversary of Hurricane Maria

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement on the anniversary of Hurricane Maria:

“One year ago, more than three million Americans in Puerto Rico faced one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the island. The storm’s devastation demanded swift and decisive action from the president, but Donald Trump watched and waited. He failed to immediately authorize all of the disaster-relief tools at FEMA’s disposal. And it was a week before he lifted the Jones Act, preventing desperately-needed supplies from reaching the island. Homes were destroyed, stranded families cried out for help getting food and water, and sick patients lost access to life-saving care as hospitals struggled to operate without electricity.

“Ultimately, nearly 3,000 American citizens died because of Hurricane Maria. And as their families still mourn and seek answers, the president has had the gall to deny the truth about the death toll while declaring that he did a fantastic job. This is the terrible cost of incompetence and cruelty in the Oval Office. Democrats believe that the federal government has a solemn responsibility to protect American citizens, especially in the wake of natural disasters. And we will hold Trump and Republican lawmakers accountable for their failure to lead on Election Day.”

Trump’s Puerto Rico tweets spark backlash

President Trump roiled Democrats and Republicans alike on Thursday with a pair of tweets alleging that Democrats inflated statistics on the number of people killed by hurricanes last year in Puerto Rico.
“3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico,” Trump tweeted. He went on to claim, without evidence, that the number was purposefully exaggerated by Democrats “to make me look as bad as possible.”

Continue reading “Trump’s Puerto Rico tweets spark backlash”

Trump says Puerto Rico death toll inflated by Democrats: ‘3000 people did not die’

President Trump on Thursday accused Democrats, without evidence, of inflating the 3,000-person death count from last year’s hurricanes in Puerto Rico in order “to make me look bad.”

The stunning accusation is Trump’s latest attempt to defend his handling of natural disasters as Hurricane Florence bears down on the Southeastern U.S.

In a pair of tweets, Trump disputed an independent report commissioned by Puerto Rico’s government that raised the death toll from Hurricane Maria to 2,975.

View the complete September 13 article by Jordan Fabian on the Hill website here.

‘Never give an inch’: Trump keeps touting perceived failures as successes

President Trump on Sept. 11 praised his administration’s response to the damage to Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, where the death toll was nearly 3,000. (The Washington Post)

An estimated 3,000 people died after the devastating Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico last year. Large swaths of the island were without power for months. FEMA was short thousands of workers and underestimated how much food and supplies were needed in the recovery, according to a federal government report.

But in the eyes of President Trump, the government’s response was a raging success — and one he touted this week as a monstrous hurricane pinwheeled toward the Carolinas.

“We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida (and did an unappreciated great job in Puerto Rico, even though an inaccessible island with very poor electricity and a totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan),” he wrote Wednesday on Twitter.

View the complete post by Josh Dawsey posted September 12, 2018, on the Washington Post website here.

Want to Know More About: Puerto Rico?

Major Garrett: “A Killer Storm Last Year Hurricane Maria Triggered Renewed Scrutiny. The President Praised The Federal Response In The Face Of Fresh Reports That 3,000 Died And Months Passed Before Electricity Was Restored To Populated Areas Of Puerto Rico.” MAJOR GARRETT: “But a killer storm last year hurricane Maria triggered renewed scrutiny. The President praised the federal response in the face of fresh reports that 3,000 died and months passed before electricity was restored to populated areas of Puerto Rico.” [CBS This Morning, CBS, 9/12/18; Video]

David Gregory: “We Know About This President Is That That Doesn’t Matter As Much As Taking On All Comers Who Would Criticize Him And To Project A Story That Is Belied By Facts On The Ground. The Notion He Would Take On The Local Mayor In Such A Fashion Is Not Surprising.” DAVID GREGORY: “It clearly was not a success. And any leader looking at that would try to learn from those lessons about federal response, about state and local response. But what we know about this president is that that doesn’t matter as much as taking on all comers who would criticize him and to project a story that is belied by facts on the ground. The notion he would take on the local mayor in such a fashion is not surprising. It just fits a pattern.” [New Day, CNN, 9/12/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: Puerto Rico?”

Study: Hurricane Maria and its aftermath caused a spike in Puerto Rico deaths, with nearly 3,000 more than normal

The following article by Arelis R. Hernández, Samantha Schmidt and Joel Achenbach was posted on the Washington Post website August 28, 2018:

Following the release of a report, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló raised the island’s official toll from Hurricane Maria from 64 to 2,975 on Aug. 28. (Ricardo Rossello)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico led to a spike in mortality across the U.S. territory, with an estimated 2,975 excess deaths in the six months after the storm made landfall in September 2017, according to a sweeping report from George Washington University released Tuesday.

The government of Puerto Rico on Tuesday embraced the GWU estimate as the official death toll, ranking Maria among the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history. For much of the past year, the government had formally acknowledged just 64 deaths from the hurricane, which ravaged much of the territory and destroyed critical infrastructure. The spike in mortality came as the territory dealt with widespread and lengthy power outages, a lack of access to adequate health care, water insecurity and diseases related to the crisis.

The new study, requested by the governor of Puerto Rico, examined an unusually long period of time following the storm — six months — in an attempt to detect the hurricane’s lingering, indirect effects on mortality. The investigation looked at the total number of deaths from September 2017 through February 2018, and compared it with typical death rates, adjusting for many variables, including the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans who evacuated the territory after the storm struck on Sept. 20.

Trump hails ‘incredible’ response in ‘lovely’ trip to storm-torn Puerto Rico Play Video 2:24

The following article by Jenna Johnson and Ashley Parker was posted on the Washington Post website October 3, 2017:

During a visit to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico on Oct. 3, President Trump told Puerto Rican officials they should be “very proud” that hundreds didn’t die like in a “real catastrophe like Katrina.” (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

President Trump arrived in Puerto Rico on Tuesday as the territory struggled to recover from Hurricane Maria, which has left nearly all the island without power and most residents without ­water nearly two weeks later.

But Trump’s focus was on the “unbelievable” and “incredible” job that his administration has done so far. He repeatedly played down the destruction to the island, telling local officials they should feel “very proud” they ­haven’t lost hundreds of lives like in “a real catastrophe” like Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast in 2005. But he also complained that the small territory’s disaster threw the nation’s budget “a little out of whack.” Continue reading “Trump hails ‘incredible’ response in ‘lovely’ trip to storm-torn Puerto Rico Play Video 2:24”

Trump Blasted Obama After Hurricane Sandy For Power Cut

The following article by Harriet Sinclair with Newsweek was posted on the National Memo website October 2, 2017:

As Donald Trump is facing criticism for his response to the disaster in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria, it has emerged he slammed former president Barack Obama’s administration for its response to Hurricane Sandy.

According to Trump, there was no excuse for the fact that people were left without power and water and the businessman suggested Obama’s administration had dealt with Sandy “worse than Katrina.” Continue reading “Trump Blasted Obama After Hurricane Sandy For Power Cut”

Lost weekend: How Trump’s time at his golf club hurt the response to Maria

The following article by Abby Phillip, Ed O’Keefe, Nick Miroff and Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website September 29, 2017:

Doctors in San Juan are worried that hospitals could run out of power, endangering patients. (Video: Ashleigh Joplin, Whitney Leaming/Photo: Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo/The Washington Post)

At first, the Trump administration seemed to be doing all the right things to respond to the disaster in Puerto Rico.

As Hurricane Maria made landfall on Wednesday, Sept. 20, there was a frenzy of activity publicly and privately. The next day, President Trump called local officials on the island, issued an emergency declaration and pledged that all federal resources would be directed to help. Continue reading “Lost weekend: How Trump’s time at his golf club hurt the response to Maria”