Emergency Management

A transmission tower and downed lines in the mountainous terrain of eastern Puerto Rico. Workers from the island and throughout the United States have worked to restore power after Hurricanes Irma and Maria last September.

It took months to restore electricity in Puerto Rico after hurricanes dealt a one-two punch. Many homes are still without power, and the system’s future is far from certain.

nytimes.com - by JAMES GLANZ and FRANCES ROBLES - Photographs by TODD HEISLER - May 6, 2018

 . . . After Maria and the hurricane that preceded it, called Irma, Puerto Rico all but slipped from the modern era . . .

 . . . an examination of the power grid’s reconstruction — based on a review of hundreds of documents and interviews with dozens of public officials, utility experts and citizens across the island — shows how a series of decisions by federal and Puerto Rican authorities together sent the effort reeling on a course that would take months to correct. The human and economic damage wrought by all that time without power may be irreparable.

Volunteers with Koncious Contractors remove tree branches from a Little Havana home. After Hurricane Irma, many South Florida community groups deployed volunteers to low-income and disabled people with recovery.  NADEGE GREEN / WLRN

wlrn.org - by KATE STEIN & ALEXANDER GONZALEZ - April 23, 2018

Several South Florida nonprofits are launching five meetings to ensure equality in hurricane recovery efforts, continuing work that began after Hurricane Irma.

After the storm, some elderly people went days without ice or water. Some students who rely on free school lunches didn't have a way to eat. Volunteers and community groups stepped up to host barbecues, deliver supplies and help with tree removal.

Now the groups want to create preparedness plans that specifically meet the needs of low-income neighborhoods. They also want to push for more accountability from elected officials.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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 . . .

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

AN EXPANDING LIST OF NEWS AND INFORMATION RESOURCES RELATED TO HURRICANE IRMA . . .

CLICK HERE - DisasterAssistance.gov

CLICK HERE - Florida Division of Emergency Management - floridadisaster.org

CLICK HERE - Florida Division of Emergency Management - Hurricane Irma latest information including evacuation zones, evacuation orders, shelters, and much more

CLICK HERE - FEMA - Hurricane Irma

CLICK HERE - The National Institutes of Heath - Moisture and Mold Remediation - Standard Operating Procedures (14 page .PDF file)

CLICK HERE - Texas A&M - Dry out before Rebuilding (2 page .PDF file)