Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico News

FEMA Officials Arrested on Fraud Charges Linked to Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria Aid

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials who oversaw the reconstruction of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and the former president of Cobra Acquisitions were arrested on fraud and conspiracy charges linked to recovery efforts from Hurricane Maria, according to federal prosecutors. FEMA’s …

Small Businesses Learn Hard Lessons When They Don’t Prepare for Disaster

When Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, Carlos Melendez couldn’t contact the staffers or customers of his San Juan-based technology firm, Wovenware. Melendez learned a lesson that would help his business during the next storm, that disaster preparedness …

Puerto Rico Reforms Claims, Surplus Lines, Other Insurance Laws

The governor of Puerto Rico overhauled the U.S. territory’s insurance laws on Tuesday to help protect policyholders as thousands of claims remain unresolved more than a year after Hurricane Maria. Gov. Ricardo Rossello signed six laws into effect as he …

Insurers Under Scrutiny in Puerto Rico with 13,600 Hurricane Maria Claims Still Open

Thousands of Puerto Ricans have been forced to drain their savings, close their businesses, or resign themselves to living with structural damage as they fight insurance companies over millions of dollars’ worth of claims that have gone unanswered or unpaid …

Puerto Rico’s Small Businesses Were Underinsured for Maria Damages

Only a tiny fraction of small businesses in Puerto Rico was fully insured for losses arising from last year’s Hurricane Maria, which hit revenue or raised costs for more than three-quarters of them, according to a Federal Reserve report on …

Judge Says FEMA Can End Motel Payments for Hurricane Maria Evacuees

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a request to block the U.S. government from cutting off aid to hundreds of Puerto Rican families who fled the hurricane-ravaged island in 2017 and are living in hotels and motels across the United …

Puerto Rico Governor Orders Review of Hurricane Death Count

Puerto Rico’s governor has announced that a team of experts at George Washington University will lead an independent, in-depth review to determine the number of deaths caused by Hurricane Maria amid accusations that the U.S. territory has undercounted the toll. …

United Nations Assessing Disaster Recovery in Puerto Rico

A United Nations expert on extreme poverty and human rights met Monday with hurricane victims in Puerto Rico as complaints grow about the U.S. government’s response to a Category 4 storm. U.N. envoy Philip Alston toured one of the hardest …

As Puerto Rico Struggles to Recover from Maria, Burst Dam Brings More Suffering

In San Juan, it was as if Hurricane Maria left everyone to fend for themselves. Two days after Maria hit, electricity and mobile phone service was nonexistent in the capital and across most of Puerto Rico, which was already buckling …

Storm Watch Issued for North Carolina as Puerto Rico, Markets Weigh Maria’s Economic Costs

Storm watches have been issued for North Carolina as the U.S. is threatened by a hurricane for the fourth time in a month. Tropical storm watches, meaning winds of at least 39 miles (63 kilometers) per hour could reach the …