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☆ Authorities search for migrants missing after boat overturns in Puerto Rico bay
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Authorities on Wednesday searched for at least eight migrants believed to be missing in waters near the historic area of Puerto Rico’s capital. The U.S. Coast Guard said the people were apparently aboard a boat that capsized in San Juan Bay on Tuesday night, according to two survivors from the Dominican Republic who were rescued. The search comes amid a spike in human smuggling voyages departing from Haiti and the Dominican Republic as people flee poverty and violence. From October 2021 through September 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard detained at least 88 such voyages in waters near Puerto Rico and in the Mona Passage, which separates the U.S. territory from the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. During that period, more than 1,700 Dominicans were detained, along with 444 Haitians and four Cubans.

☆ U.S. approves LNG shipping waiver for Puerto Rico after hurricane
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shipping Corp FollowWASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The Biden administration late on Sunday approved a waiver of U.S. shipping rules to address Puerto Rico's urgent need for liquefied natural gas (LNG) after Hurricane Fiona. In late September, the DHS approved a Jones Act waiver to ensure Puerto Rico had "sufficient diesel to run generators needed for electricity and the functioning of critical facilities." Last month, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi asked the White House for a waiver to increase the availability of fuel after the storm. A group of eight House lawmakers had asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for "a one-year waiver from the Jones Act for Puerto Rico" which faces "an unprecedented uphill battle to rebuild its homes, businesses, and communities." All other waivers, DHS said, "must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis."

☆ In Puerto Rico’s Troubled Energy System, McKinsey Gets Paid by Both Government and Vendors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Alexander Gladstone | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

McKinsey & Co., the consulting powerhouse that advises not just Puerto Rico’s government but also the primary contractors and vendors for the island territory’s energy system, is facing scrutiny in the wake of the power grid’s continued dysfunction. Since McKinsey was hired as the top consultant to Puerto Rico’s financial-oversight board, which oversees public spending, the firm has helped officials shape efforts to overhaul the territory’s electricity system through a privatization process that resulted in a venture backed by one of McKinsey’s clients winning the lucrative contract to operate the grid.

☆ Biden Administration Grants Waiver Allowing Diesel Shipment Into Puerto Rico
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Paul Page | Andrew Restuccia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration on Wednesday approved a temporary waiver to Jones Act shipping restrictions to allow a tanker to deliver diesel fuel to Puerto Rico needed to run generators following the devastation caused by Hurricane Fiona. The BP vessel, which picked up its fuel cargo in Texas, is flagged to the Marshall Islands. The law is aimed at preserving U.S. maritime operations as a national security backup to the armed forces. Critics say the law drives up shipping prices and creates a barrier to speedy services following natural disasters and other times of need. Mr. Mayorkas said he made the decision to grant the waiver in consultation with the departments of Transportation, Energy, and Defense, and with input from Puerto Rico Gov.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A ship carrying much-needed diesel fuel has been unable to dock in hard-hit southern Puerto Rico since Sunday while it awaits federal authorization because of the Jones Act, a century-old shipping law. That means that a foreign ship with goods for Puerto Rico would first have to disembark in the mainland U.S. and change crews. Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson two years after World War I ended, the Jones Act was passed as a protective measure against foreign competition. On Thursday, eight members of Congress called for the federal government to grant a one-year waiver from the Jones Act for storm-ravaged Puerto Rico. As of Monday morning, only 16% of power customers in Ponce had their electricity restored, according to the Puerto Rican government.

Workers with Luma Energy attempt to restore power on a flooded street in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 24. Since the hurricane, fuel and diesel have become essential to daily life in Puerto Rico, mainly to power the generators. People play pool in a bar on Sept. 20, in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. 'Puerto Rico is completely devastated'When asked what she would want to see from the federal response and from President Joe Biden, she said she wanted Biden to come to Puerto Rico and see the extent of the damage. A house that was washed away by Hurricane Fiona at Villa Esperanza in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 21.

☆ Puerto Ricans from town in ‘terrible destruction’ after Hurricane Fiona despair over town's initial exclusion from aid
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Daniella Silva | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The landslides cut off Rivera’s farm, where he still lacks power and water, until heavy machinery arrived to attempt to clear the destruction. Most of the towns excluded were in the southwestern region, where Hurricane Fiona entered and left incalculable devastation. 'Almost all lost'But residents in San Germán were frustrated at not being able to apply immediately for individual assistance. Gone were hundreds of avocados, the coffee, the eggplants, zucchini and other crops Rivera produces and sells to the community, mostly to nearby restaurants. Jorge Luis Rivera, 36, a farmer in San Germán, Puerto Rico, who lost most of his crops to Hurricane Fiona.

JAYUYA, Puerto Rico — When Hurricane Fiona completely knocked out power and water to the mountain town of Jayuya, in the heart of Puerto Rico, it quickly became a life-or-death matter for Luis De Jesús Ramos, who has throat cancer and a tracheostomy. Luis De Jesús Ramos, 63, and his daughter Ashly Pérez, 26, in their home in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Members of the company LUMA work restoring energy on Sept. 20, 2022 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Direct Relief Puerto Rico team came to the neighborhood to bring 10 portable oxygen concentrators and other supplies to partners in the area. Edwin Quiles Martínez, 66, and his wife Graciela Pérez Alvarado, 73, in their home in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

“Thank you Bad Bunny, thank you for being who you are, thank you for representing us and having us in your heart and soul,” she wrote in a Facebook post. It’s excellent that Bad Bunny is raising his voice for Puerto Rico. He said Bad Bunny's video is a “clear description” of the reality that Puerto Ricans live day by day. The theme of displacement also connects to the last sentences in Bad Bunny's song, which are sung by Bad Bunny’s girlfriend, Gabriela Berlingeri. “We are proud and grateful to Bad Bunny,” Cruz said, “for giving a voice to the people of Puerto Rico during Hurricane Fiona.”Follow NBC Latino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

President Joe Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for Puerto Rico as it reels from Hurricane Fiona, Gov. The administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, began touring affected communities in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, conducting initial damage assessments to support the governor's request. A man on Tuesday collects donated water bottles for drinking after Hurricane Fiona damaged water supplies in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Hurricane Fiona is the first major hurricane to directly hit Puerto Rico since it was ravaged by Hurricane Maria five years ago. "With regard to Hurricane Maria, the people of Puerto Rico, we believe, were treated in a manner inconsistent with the mandate toward equality, fairness and impartiality," Yaki said.

Up to 29 inches of rain have fallen in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Fiona, overflowing rivers and small streams. “More significant rains are expected, further increasing the risk of landslides,” Puerto Rico Gov. Oliver Lopez’s family is among the many Puerto Ricans still without power or water as a result of Hurricane Fiona. Four deaths have been reported in the wake of Hurricane Fiona. A woman clears debris on her property flooded by Hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on Monday.

For Quiñones and other Puerto Ricans, the continuing fragility of Puerto Rico's power grid five years later is a constant source of concern in a region that expects the possibility of hurricanes every fall. “Five years later, we are still exposed to the same risk,” Marxuach, who recently completed an analysis on the state of Puerto Rico’s electric power system, said. On Sunday afternoon, an islandwide blackout was reported as the eye of Fiona neared Puerto Rico's southwestern coast. Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, 2017. In the meantime, residents were getting ready for another tropical storm, albeit one less destructive than Hurricane Maria.

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