President Trump and his administration treated the hurricanes that hit Texas and Florida as much more urgent problems than the hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico, including delaying the deployment of a top expert.
Some discrepancies Politico found come in the response times and levels in relief efforts following the storms.
Six days after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, U.S. Northern Command deployed 73 helicopters to Houston to rescue victims and deliver emergency supplies. Puerto Rico had to wait three weeks after Hurricane Maria hit to have over 70 helicopters in its airspace.
In addition, Mike Byrne, the assistant administrator for field operations at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, remained in Houston when it was expected he could be one of the only ones who could handle the recovery task in Puerto Rico.
“We have the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. We go anywhere, anytime we want in the world,” retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, who led the military’s relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina, said. “And [in Puerto Rico] we didn’t use those assets the way they should have been used.”
The report also notes that nine days after Harvey, the federal government deployed 30,000 personnel to the Houston region, while in that same time period after Maria only 10,000 were in Puerto Rico.
Among other inconsistencies between the two situations, the most glaring was Trump’s attention to the two disasters.
Trump visited Houston two times in the first eight days after the hurricane, and made his first visit to Puerto Rico on day 13 following Maria. He also tweeted about Houston 24 times and Puerto Rico eight times.
Despite the difference in responses, both FEMA and Trump administration officials said they experienced the most unprecedented logistical challenges the agency has faced in its 39-year history.
Hurricane Maria was the third major hurricane to hit the U.S. in less than a month and emergency personnel and responses were stretched over Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.
