Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 29 September 2017

Now even money is running out in hurricane-hit Puerto Rico

public sector workers, has corn, vegetables and other
been called back to work crops.
she can’t go because she On Thursday the Trump ad-
has to care for her elderly ministration announced
mother in the aftermath of it was waiving the Jones
the storm. She got up at Act, a little-known federal
3:30 a.m. Wednesday and law that prohibits foreign-
went to four ATM machines flagged ships from shuttling
only to find each one emp- goods between U.S. ports,
ty. for Puerto Rico.
“Of course I took out mon- Republicans and Demo-
ey before the hurricane, crats have pushed for the
but it’s gone already,” she move, saying it could help
said. “We’re without gaso- get desperately needed
line. Without money. With- supplies to the island more
out food. This is a disaster.” quickly and at less cost.
Surgical technician Dilma White House Press Sec-
Gonzalez said she had retary Sarah Huckabee
only $40 left and her job Sanders said on Twitter that
hasn’t called people back President Donald Trump
to work yet in the capital. had “authorized the Jones
“Until they let us know oth- Act be waived for Puerto
People wait in line to withdraw cash at a bank in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, erwise, I’m not supposed Rico” in response to a re-
Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. First, Hurricane Maria knocked out power and water to to go back,” she said with quest from Rossello and
Puerto Rico. Then diesel fuel, gas and water became scarce. Now, it’s money. a shrug as she pressure that it “will go into effect
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) washed the street in front immediately.”
By BEN FOX reduced hours or the scat- in northern Puerto Rico to of her house, sending mud- Antonia Garcia, a retiree
DANICA COTO tered ATMs that are opera- catch a faint cellphone dy debris flying. who lives in the city of Bay-
Associated Press tional amid an islandwide signal. “Right now it’s man- All are struggling with the amon, said she was down
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) power outage and near ageable, but I don’t know overwhelming devastation to her last $4.
— First, Hurricane Maria total loss of telecommuni- about next week or after of Hurricane Maria, which She spent a day using pre-
knocked out power and cations. Many people are that.” began tearing across the cious gas to look for an ATM
water to Puerto Rico. Then unable to work or run their The father of six typically island early in the morning that was in operation be-
diesel fuel, gas and water businesses because diesel works from home or trav- of Sept. 20 as a Category cause she couldn’t get into
became scarce. Now, it’s to run generators is in short els around the world for his 4 storm with winds of 155 her credit union, which was
money. supply or they can’t spend job, but neither approach mph. taking only 200 customers
The aftermath of the pow- all day waiting for gas to fill is possible now because It destroyed the entire elec- a day. “This has become
erful storm has resulted in their car. the power is still out for tricity grid while grinding up chaotic,” she said.
a near-total shutdown of Engineer Octavio Cor- nearly all 3.4 million people homes, businesses, roads Puerto Rico was already
the U.S. territory’s economy tes predicts it will only get in Puerto Rico and flights off and farms. At least 16 peo- struggling before the storm.
that could last for weeks worse because so many the island are down to only ple were killed. The island has been in a
and has many people run- of the problems are inter- a few each day. There still is no exact tally recession for more than a
ning seriously low on cash connected and cannot be While Cortes is OK for the of the cost and full extent decade, the poverty rate
and worrying that it will be- easily resolved. moment, others don’t have of the damage, but Gov. was 45 percent and unem-
come even harder to sur- “I don’t know how much nearly the same resources. Ricardo Rossello says it will ployment was around 10
vive on this storm-ravaged worse it’s going to get,” Cruzita Mojica is an em- bring a complete halt to percent, higher than any
island. Cortes said as he joined ployee of the Puerto Rico the economy for at least a U.S. state.
There are long lines at the other motorists stopping Treasury Department in San month. Manufacturers of medi-
banks that are open with on a bridge over a river Juan. While she, like many “This is the single biggest, cal equipment and phar-
major catastrophe in the maceuticals, which are
Fish fall from sky with rain in north Mexico history of Puerto Rico, bar the most important seg-
none, and it is probably the ment of the economy,
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Civil coastal city of Tampico in- enon that has been report- biggest hurricane catastro- have been shedding jobs
defense officials in north- cluded fish. ed since ancient times. phe in the United States,” for years. Now everything
east Mexico say a light Photos posted on the Scientists believe that torna- Rossello said Wednesday from multinational compa-
rain was accompanied by agency’s Facebook page does over water — known as he delivered aid to the nies to small businesses and
small fish that fell from the show four small fish in a as waterspouts — could be southern town of Salinas, ranches are scrambling to
sky. bag and another on a responsible for sucking fish whose mayor says 100 get enough fuel to run gen-
Tamaulipas civil defense sidewalk. into the air where they are percent of the agriculture erators while their employ-
says in a brief statement According the U.S. Library blown around until being there was wiped out when ees struggle to even get to
that rain Tuesday in the of Congress, it’s a phenom- released to the ground.q the wind tore up plantain, work. q