The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency warned Puerto Rico has “a long way to go” before life can return to normal on the island.
“We’ve got a long way to go” in Puerto Rico, Brock Long said on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.
The FEMA administrator added, “I believe the Puerto Ricans are pulling their weight.”
Brock explained the work in Puerto Rico as a series of successes and “setbacks” in dealing with the disaster in the U.S. island territory.
Long said a new series of evacuations had to be carried out over the weekend around a major dam that has been threatening to burst over the last week.
It was the latest evacuation after crews had thought the dam had been stabilized.
“We are making progress,” Brock said.
FEMA and the rest of the federal government have been criticized for the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, the second consecutive hurricane on the island. The storm left the island devastated, as 55 percent of people on the island don’t have access to clean water and millions are without power.
President Trump has praised the response, but has also been picking fights with critics of the response — namely San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz — calling them “politically motivated ingrates.”
