As you can see from the above released US government satellite images, the passage of Hurricane Maria has taken a heavy toll on the island. Most of Puerto Rico is now a dark spot during the night, and residents are still scattered across the island without power or any form of communications.
Governor Ricardo Rossello is calling upon US congress to release relief funds immediately: "Puerto Rico is part of the United States, and we need to take swift action. This is a major disaster”
On top of that, the island is also faced with the largest bankruptcy case in US history, being more than $72bn in debt.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Drone & aerial shots from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Naranjito?src=hash">#Naranjito</a> to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Barranquitas?src=hash">#Barranquitas</a>, Puerto Rico of the damage left behind from Hurricane Maria. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PuertoRico?src=hash">#PuertoRico</a> <a href="https://t.co/vG2NfCAs9y">pic.twitter.com/vG2NfCAs9y</a></p>— WXChasing (@bclemms) <a href="https://twitter.com/bclemms/status/912409652524208130">September 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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President Donald Trump also chimed in with a series of tweeted messages about the disaster that struck: “Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble. It’s (sic) old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with.”
Meanwhile, the spokeswoman for the White House, Ms Sarah Sanders informed reporters in Washington that the current administration was trying to gather as much information as they could to process what exactly needs to be dealt with first in Purto Rico.
Speaker of the house Paul Ryan, the highest ranking Republican in Congress, said: "The stories and images coming out of Puerto Rico are devastating. Congress is working with the administration to ensure necessary resources get to our fellow citizens in #PuertoRico."
Locals in Puerto Rico gather near mobile communications masts to try and engage with family on the US mainland, asking them to send help as soon as possible. Clean water and medicine is currently very scarce and the …. dam is still in great danger of bursting, making it impossible for any nearby residents to return to their homes at this moment.
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