President Joe Biden says the U.S. government will be with Puerto Rico for the long haul as it cleans up and rebuilds after Hurricane Fiona.
and Deanne Criswell, the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, was to touch down Monday in Ponce, Puerto Rico, a city on the southern coast. Most of the storm damage is in southern Puerto Rico.“We will make sure to keep working together to ensure the continuity of a reconstruction already underway," the governor tweeted on Sunday.
Some people in Puerto Rico wondered whether Biden’s visit would change anything as they recalled how Presidentvisited after Hurricane Maria hit as a more powerful Category 4 storm in 2017, and tossed rolls of paper towels into a crowd in a display that riled many. Criswell, who discussed the aftermath of Fiona and Ian on four Sunday TV news programs, echoed Biden's promise to Fiona’s victims.Criswell said on ABC's “This Week” that FEMA personnel were sent to the island before the storm hit and that “they're going to stay with the people of Puerto Rico" through the recovery efforts.