Biden announces $60 million in aid to Puerto Rico

More than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona touch Puerto Ricothe president of the United States, Joe Biden, and his wife, the first lady, Jill Biden, visited that associate state to confirm the allocation of 60 million dollars in aid for disaster prevention and recovery for the damages caused recently.

“Today I am announcing more than $60 million to assist Puerto Rico’s coastal areas prepare for future storms,” Biden said.

The president explained that one of the suggestions is to use part of the money to create a system that helps reinforce dikes and barriers, and said that as part of the budget, included in the budget of the Bipartisan Law, signed in November 2021, another 90 million dollars will go to the repair of the interstate highway on the island.

Biden was preceded by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro R. Pierluisi, who thanked the president for his presence and support.

Hurricane Fiona, category 1, subjected the island to a lack of electricity to 1.4 million customers out of a total population of 3.2 million inhabitants.

Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as well as from other federal agencies, are still in the territory searching and rescuing people, repairing affected facilities and providing various types of help to the victims.

Biden confirmed that on Wednesday he will travel to the state of Florida, heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian last week and where thousands of relatives of Puerto Ricans reside.

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