Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 27 september 2017

Puerto Rico emerges from storm; water and some food scarce

from normal. the apartment they rent-
SuperMax opened on a ed three weeks ago when
reduced schedule for sev- they moved to Puerto Rico
eral stores in the San Juan from Denver, Colorado.
area as well as in the hard- They have been getting
hit towns of Caguas and by in their dark, sweltering
Dorado. apartment on instant oat-
Walgreens has reopened meal and anything else
about half of its 120 loca- they can cook on a pro-
tions in Puerto Rico on a pane stove as they wait for
limited basis. Walmart says a flight back home.
it has a “handful” of its 48 “I tell my husband it’s like
stores and Sam’s Clubs camping. It’s ‘Survivor’
open, but the process has Puerto Rico,” Casper said.
been slowed by the power “It’s not what we bar-
outages, port closures and gained for.”
the near total collapse of Stores are still packed with
communications. dozens of brands of sham-
Supermarket chain Econo poo and other consumer
opened 80 percent of its products, but those aisles
63 stores across the island were largely empty as
on Tuesday, though the people rushed to buy the
People wait in line outside a grocery store to buy food that wouldn’t spoil and that they could hours would depend on basics, using cash sparing-
prepare without electricity, in San Juan, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. Most stores and restaurants re- the availability of diesel for ly since that is also in short
mained closed Monday. Nearly all of Puerto Rico was without power or water five days after Hur- its generators. supply and credit card
ricane Maria. Two Medinia supermar- transactions aren’t being
(AP Photo/Ben Fox)
kets opened in the coastal processed at all places.
By BEN FOX perishables. week. town of Loiza. Ruth Calderon, a retiree,
Associated Press Drinking water was no- “We are in a crisis,” Perez But Manager David Guz- filled her basket with pro-
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) where to be found. said. “Puerto Rico is de- man said he had to im- cessed sausages that she
— Supermarkets are gradu- Mercedes Caro shook stroyed.” pose restrictions on cook- planned to cook up with
ally re-opening in hurri- her head in frustration as The fact that some stores ing gas and other products rice and share with an
cane-ravaged Puerto Rico, she emerged from the Su- and restaurants have re- that were running low and older neighbor who can’t
but the situation is far from perMax in the Condado opened for the first time might not be restocked leave her apartment. “I’m
normal and many custom- neighborhood of San Juan since Category 4 Hurricane soon. “We are restricting so surviving,” she said with
ers are going home disap- with a loaf of white bread, Maria roared across the is- we can give something to resignation. “I have what I
pointed. cheese and bananas. land Sept. 20 is welcome in everyone, to extend what need.”
Most food stores and res- “There is no water and a place where nearly ev- we have left,” he said. Others also described help-
taurants remain closed, practically no food,” she eryone has no power and Therese Casper was ing neighbors, and there
largely because power is said. more than half the people among several dozen peo- are no signs of widespread
out for most of the island “Not even spaghetti.” don’t have water. ple waiting for a Walmart hunger, at least not yet.
and few have generators Maria Perez waited outside Gov. Ricardo Rossello and to open in the Santurce “There is a tradition here
or enough diesel to power a Pueblo supermarket in a other Puerto Rican offi- section of San Juan, but of people helping each
them. nearby part of San Juan, cials said some ports have that didn’t happen Mon- other, especially during di-
The shops that were open hoping to buy some cof- been cleared by the Coast day. sasters,” Doris Anglero said
Monday had long lines fee, sugar and maybe a Guard to resume accept- She and her husband were as she looked for what was
outside and vast empty little meat to cook with a ing ships, which should al- looking for something to available in an Old San
shelves where they once gas stove that has enough low businesses to restock. get rid of all the moisture Juan supermarket.
held milk, meat and other propane for about another But the situation remains far that had accumulated in Some disappointed shop-
pers were sharply aware
Venezuela’s opposition backs out of talks with government that others on the island
have it worse.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) The Democratic Unity al- and electoral guarantees. to the nation’s protracted Caro wept as she talked
— Venezuela’s opposition liance says it won’t send It also said Maduro didn’t economic and political cri- about her four grandchil-
is backing out of early- representatives to the ex- name a promised third ob- sis requires Maduro to step dren in Rincon, the western
stage negotiations with the ploratory talks scheduled server nation to facilitate down. However the em- town that has been largely
government after accusing to resume Wednesday in eventual negotiations. battled socialist has shown cut off from aid shipments
President Nicolas Maduro’s the Dominican Republic The two sides met through no sign of ceding power as well as contact with the
administration of not fol- because the government mediators twice before this and accuses opponents of outside world. “Not know-
lowing through on commit- failed to meet pledges in month.Venezuela’s opposi- plotting with the U.S. to re- ing is so hard,” she said,
ments. the areas of human rights tion insists that any solution move him by force.q turning to walk off. q