Trump To Visit Storm-ravaged Puerto Rico
US President Donald Trump has said he will travel next week to Puerto Rico amid a growing crisis in the wake of destruction caused by Hurricane Maria.
“That island was hit as hard as you can hit,” he said at the White House.
Puerto Rico’s governor has appealed for federal help, warning the island is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis.
The Trump administration is facing criticism over its response to the situation on the US island territory, which the storm has left without power.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump said the US was sending food, water and supplies on “an hourly basis”.
“Puerto Rico is very important to me,” he added. “The people are fantastic. I grew up in New York so I know many Puerto Rican people.”
Mr Trump said next Tuesday was the “earliest I can go without disrupting relief efforts”.
He may also visit the US Virgin Islands, which was hit by both Hurricane Maria and Irma, he added.
The president’s announcement came after the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, asked the US to put “people above debt”.
Mayor Carmin Yulin’s comments to CNN followed tweets by President Trump saying the island’s $72bn (£53bn) debt needed to be addressed amid its appeal for relief aid.
“When someone is in a life or death situation,” the mayor said, “there is a human, moral imperative to deal with that situation before dealing with anything else.”
She also said two patients on life support died on Monday because a hospital ran out of diesel, CBS News reports.
The island’s government asked a judge on Monday to defer key deadlines in its bankruptcy case as it grapples with Maria’s devastation.
Meanwhile, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello called for more rapid relief efforts, “otherwise, there will be… a massive exodus to the [mainland] United States”.
The White House on Monday rejected criticism that the Trump administration has been slow to respond in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
Maria, which struck last Wednesday, left more than a dozen people dead in Puerto Rico, knocking out electricity, water and telephone services.
It tore through the island, home to 3.5 million people, as one of the most powerful storms in nearly 90 years.
Officials in Puerto Rico say it could be months before power is fully restored, which could hinder access to clean water, safe food and medical supplies.
