NY Times

“…..In November, The Associated Press found that after Hurricane Maria, FEMA awarded more than $30 million in contracts for emergency tarps and plastic sheeting to a company that never delivered the needed supplies…..”

Bloomberg

“…..FEMA was running low on food rations. In the previous four weeks, the agency had supplied millions of meals to the Texans and South Floridians displaced by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Maria had created a third disaster zone with more complex logistics, having knocked out Puerto Rico’s electricity, gutted its roads, and destroyed its markets and ports. Restoring food security on the island could take months. Lee had to procure millions of servings of just-add-water meals to sustain the victims. Could Jackson provide at least 2 million and begin deliveries immediately?….”

• Mylar pouches of freeze-dried meals such as Savory Stroganoff and Loaded Baked Potato Casserole
• Designed to remain edible on shelves for a quarter century.

Wise Company

NY Times

“…..The Federal Emergency Management Agency said that it was finalizing extraordinary plans to fly about 3,000 residents of Puerto Rico still living in shelters to New York and Florida.

“Transportation assistance is something that I don’t think we have done previously,” Will Booher, a FEMA spokesman, said. “But this is unique to what’s going on in Puerto Rico.” The agency said the relief effort was being undertaken at the request of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló.

FEMA regularly finds housing for hurricane victims, often at hotels or motels nearby. But because there is so little available lodging on the island, and no easy way to get people from shelters to safe housing, the agency is arranging charter flights for residents, beginning with those still in shelters…..”

NY Times

“…..one of the busiest hurricane seasons in years has overwhelmed federal disaster officials. As a result, the government’s response in the two biggest affected states — Texas and Florida — has been scattershot: effective in dealing with immediate needs, but unreliable and at times inadequate in handling the aftermath, as thousands of people face unusually long delays in getting basic disaster assistance…..One of the most significant problems FEMA has had in Texas and Florida is the backlog in getting damaged properties inspected. Contract inspectors paid by the agency must first inspect and verify the damage in order for residents to be approved for thousands of dollars in aid. FEMA does not have enough inspectors to reduce the backlog, and the average wait for an inspection is 45 days in Texas and about a month in Florida, agency officials said…….”

FEMA Sit Rep

Puerto Rico

ISDA

“…..Infectious disease risks in the wake of these hurricanes include exposures to waterborne pathogens, the spread of infections in crowded shelters, food-borne illnesses, mosquito-borne infections and mold-related illnesses. Reliable access to medicines for patients with HIV and tuberculosis is also critical to preventing treatment disruptions that increase patients’ risks of serious illness, disease progression, and to avoid the emergence of drug-resistance or transmission of these infections.  Health workers in the affected areas struggle with shortages of antibiotics and hydration solutions, and they are bracing for potential infectious disease outbreaks.  Ensuring that basic needs are met including access to clean water, safe food and sanitation as essential for infection control. …..”

The images above show lighting around San Juan, capital of the commonwealth; the images below show the entire island. One image in each pair shows a typical night before Maria made landfall, based upon cloud-free and low moonlight conditions; the second image is a composite that shows light detected by VIIRS on the nights of September 27 and 28, 2017. By compositing two nights, the image has fewer clouds blocking the view. (Note: some clouds still blocked light emissions during the two nights, especially across southeastern and western Puerto Rico.) The images above show widespread outages around San Juan, including key hospital and transportation infrastructure.

EPA

EPA Hurricane Maria Update for Wednesday, October 11th

WASHINGTON (October 11, 2017) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to coordinate closely with federal, commonwealth, territory, and local partners as the Agency responds to the impact of Hurricane Maria. EPA is focused on environmental impacts and potential threats to human health as well as the safety of those in the affected areas.  EPA is continuing to coordinate with local governments in Puerto Rico and the USVI to assess the conditions of drinking water, which includes sampling, analysis and lab support, and getting wastewater treatment systems up and running. EPA’s missions also include oil and chemical spill response, oil and chemical facility assessments and debris management.

There are reports of residents obtaining, or trying to obtain, drinking water from wells at hazardous waste “Superfund” sites in Puerto Rico.  EPA advises against tampering with sealed and locked wells or drinking from these wells, as it may be dangerous to people’s health.

EPA has collaborated with FEMA and the Department of Defense on a video documenting our drinking water assessment teams’ work. The video shows EPA teams at sites in Caguas and Yabucoa, Puerto Rico that are without power and need generators to get up and running. EPA is working with FEMA and local municipalities to get the drinking water wells functioning.

EPA and partners assessing non-PRASA drinking water system, Cañabón, Puerto Rico. Photo courtesy of EPA.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, at the request of Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló and in consultation with U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry, today waived certain parts of the Clean Air Act to allow for the continued use of heating oil and marine fuel designated for use in Emission Control Areas that exceed the 15 parts per million sulfur standard for mobile non-road generators and pumps used for emergency purposes in Puerto Rico. This waiver is effective immediately and will continue through October 30, 2017. Any non-ultra low sulfur diesel fuel authorized under this waiver and remaining in a mobile non-road generator or pump after October 30, 2017, may continue to be used until the fuel has been consumed

Personnel
EPA continues to deploy personnel to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as conditions allow. As of October 10, 2017:

• About 236 personnel are currently involved in hurricane response efforts.
• About 48 personnel are on the ground in USVI to assist with response efforts.
• About 89 personnel are on the ground in Puerto Rico to assist with response efforts.

Debris Management
EPA continues to work with FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Puerto Rico and USVI governments on debris management. EPA will assist with the handling and disposal of orphan containers, household hazardous waste, medical waste and e-waste. EPA plans to conduct air monitoring at collection areas and during all hazardous materials operations.

Marine Operations
EPA is working with the US Coast Guard on marine operations to assess sunken vessels on the eastern coast of Puerto Rico and USVI. Teams will locate and evaluate the condition of sunken vessels and assist with the disposal of recovered oil and hazardous materials.

Assessment of Superfund Sites, Oil Sites and Regulated Facilities
EPA continues to re-assess Superfund sites, oil sites, and chemical facilities in both Puerto Rico and the USVI to determine if the sites were affected by Hurricane Maria and if there is a potential for contamination to cause off-site impacts.

Drinking Water and Wastewater Management
In USVI, EPA continues to coordinate drinking water sampling with the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Natural Resources. In Puerto Rico, the EPA continues to focus on assessing both drinking water and wastewater systems and continues to work closely with the government of Puerto Rico.

Water Safety
Raw sewage continues to be released into waterways and is expected to continue until repairs can be made and power is restored. Water contaminated with livestock waste, human sewage, chemicals, and other contaminants can lead to illness when used for drinking, bathing, and other hygiene activities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people should not use the water from rivers, streams and coastal water to drink, bathe, wash, or to cook with unless first boiling this water for a minimum of one minute. If boiling the water is not possible, water may be disinfected with bleach. To learn more about making water safe in an emergency, go to CDC’s Making Water Safe in an Emergency web page.

For information and updates, visit: https://www.epa.gov/hurricane-maria.

FEMA

Current Situation 18 large fires burning (FMAGs issued for 10) across 150k acres of state and private land.

Impacts: • 24 confirmed fatalities (CalOES law enforcement) • Approximately 106k people under Mandatory Evacuations • 36,513 (+3,100) homes threatened; 94 (+44) damaged / 1,313 (+168) destroyed •

Within existing fire perimeters: Population 26,270, 2 mobile home parks, 12 schools, 10 emergency medical services, 10 fire stations, 5 NSS shelters, 13 nursing homes, 3 cell towers •

50k customers without power and 36k without gas

(FEMA Reg IX) State/Local Response: • Governor declared a state of emergency in Napa, Sonoma, Butte, Lake, Solano, Mendocino, Nevada, Orange, and Yuba counties • CA EOC at Partial Activation • 59 Red Cross and independent shelters open with 5,117 (+2.8k) occupants (ESF-6 as of 3:30 a.m. EDT) FEMA Response: • DR-4344-CA and 10 FMAGs approved • Region IX IMAT-1 & LNO deployed to CA EOC • Staging Area established at Travis AFB

FEMA

Hurricane Update – Caribbean Current Situation Life safety and life sustainment efforts in PR and USVI ongoing.

Passing showers possible for eastern PR and USVI.

Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for PR through this evening.

Impacts Population: • Shelters: 107 (-1) open with 5,602 (-140) occupants in PR; 5 open with 339 occupants in USVI •

Disaster Assistance Registrations: 370k in PR; 9k in USVI

Communications: • PR: 22% of cell towers operational; 64% of the Puerto Rico population live in areas where wireless coverage is available for voice and text messages • USVI: 45% of cell towers operational (St. Thomas: 50%; St. John: no cell sites operational; St. Croix: 48%); St. John being serviced by temporary Wi-Fi hot spots and personal MiFi devices

Power: • Restoration: PR: 10.6% have electricity; PREPA is reporting that the failure of tie line that caused the generation plant to go down October 10 has been repaired; USVI: 14.4% St. Thomas; 0% St. John; 12% St. Croix on power grid; 90% of the USVI to be restored by late December

Generators: PR: 70 installed; 135 available; 365 en route; USVI: 55 generators installed, 50 available; 39 en route

Health and Medical: • PR: 65 out of 67 hospitals open; 36 hospitals connected to power grid, 29 on generator power; USNS Comfort is en route to Arecibo and is subsequently scheduled to move to Aguadilla • USVI: USVI Department of Health (DOH) is without power; public health clinic co-located at the DOH is closed and vaccine supply located at the facility affected; ESF-8 working with DOH to assess damage to vaccine supply. St. Croix: Charles Harwood Hospital and Governor Juan Luis Hospital damaged; partially open; St. Thomas: Schneider Medical Center damaged; established mobile medical facility

FEMA Response • NRCC: Level I (day shift), Enhanced Watch (night shift) • National IMAT East-2: Deployed to PR • FEMA Region II & X IMATs: Deployed to USVI • FEMA Region III IMAT: Deployed to PR • MERS teams deployed to both USVI & PR