Biden tells Puerto Ricans he’s ‘committed to this island’

PONCE, Puerto Rico — President Biden promised to “rebuild it all” after arriving in Puerto Rico on Monday to survey damage from Hurricane Fiona, as tens of thousands of people remain without power two weeks after the storm hit.

“I’m committed to this island,” he said after receiving a briefing from local officials, acknowledging that Fiona was only the latest in a string of disasters that have battered the U.S. territory in recent years.

“Puerto Ricans are a strong people,” Biden said. “But even so, you have had to bear so much, and more than need be, and you haven’t gotten the help in a timely way.”

President Biden, with First Lady Jill Biden, delivers remarks on Hurricane Fiona, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. (Evan Vucci/)

Hurricane Fiona knocked out electrical power to the U.S. territory of 3.2 million people, 44% of whom live below the poverty line.

“What happened with this hurricane is that even though it was Category 1, in terms of water, it was like Category 4,” Puerto Rico’s governor, Pedro Pierluisi, told Biden.

Power has been restored to about 90% of the island’s 1.47 million customers, but more than 137,000 others, mostly in the hardest hit areas of Puerto Rico’s southern and western regions, continue to struggle in the dark. Another 66,000 customers are without water.

First Lady Jill Biden and others, fill and stack bags of supplies for Hurricane Fiona victims, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, during a visit to Centro Sor Isolina Ferre Aguayo School. (Evan Vucci/)

Biden announced the administration will provide $60 million through last year’s bipartisan infrastructure law to help Puerto Rico shore up levees, strengthen flood walls and create a new flood warning system so the island will be better prepared for future storms.

Some people in Puerto Rico wondered whether Biden’s visit would change anything as they recalled how President Donald Trump visited 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.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, receive a briefing from Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi on Hurricane Fiona, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. (Evan Vucci/)

Manuel Veguilla, a 63-year-old retired mechanic who lives in a remote community in the hard-hit northern mountain town of Caguas, said he didn’t expect his life to improve in the aftermath of Fiona, which cut off his neighborhood from any help for a week.

“They always offer the lollipop to the kids,” he said, referring to Biden’s visit. “But in the end, the outcome is always the same. The aid goes to those who have the most.”