Snarky comments will not help Puerto Rico relief

Slate magazine is also troubled, writing, “So far, the Trump administration has dispatched an anemic Federal Emergency Management Agency mission and sundry military units to assess the situation and provide support. But in some cases it took the federal government days to even contact local leaders in Puerto Rico’s major cities, let alone deploy aid. Only the most rudimentary military support is now on the ground.”

We have done our fair share of criticizing the Trump administration but this time both Clinton and Slate are wrong. Federal and military aid for Puerto Rico, other Caribbean islands, and the coast of Florida in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria has been swift and large-scale. Both the governor of Puerto Rico and the mayor of San Juan have been effusive in their praise of relief efforts.

The Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were both as proactive as possible in preparing for the hurricanes but the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria is massive. Nearly 3.5 million people live on an island that is 3,475 square miles — much of it mountainous terrain, rainforests, inaccessible coastline, and now-impassable roads.

Puerto Rico’s infrastructure is old and poorly maintained. Officials say 42 percent of Puerto Rico’s population is without drinking water. There is no electricity on the island. Restoring the utilities isn’t going to be a matter of repairs — it’s going to require rebuilding. Before that work can even begin, thousands of downed trees and tons of storm debris will need to be cleared.

As soon as Maria passed, officials were on the ground assessing damage. That it took federal officials “days to even contact local leaders,” as Slate accuses, is primarily because there were no communications on the island. Nearly every cell tower was destroyed and the electrical grid was wiped out. Blocked roads and hazardous conditions make visiting towns and cities in person almost impossible.

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Two Navy ships headed to Puerto Rico before the storm hit. As soon as it was safe, they were on scene and providing assistance. Soldiers from a medical support brigade at Fort Bragg, N.C., were on board one of the ships, the USS Kearsarge. A Marine expeditionary unit also came to assist. National Guard units on Puerto Rico were activated and more troops are pouring in from units across the U.S., including Virginia.

A flotilla of at least 10 U.S. warships is assisting in relief efforts. The hospital ship, USNS Comfort, has been activated and will arrive off the coast of Puerto Rico within days. Oh — and sorry, Ms. Clinton, but discussions on deploying the Comfort were going on prior to her tweet. Surely she knows it takes about a week to load supplies and bring in 1,500 medical and support personnel from around the country?

Thankfully, some radar capability has been restored on the island. Aircraft bringing in supplies are now arriving around the clock at the airport in San Juan. According to the Military Times, as of Sept. 26, FEMA and other federal agencies had delivered 350 satellite phones and “have provided more than 4 million meals, 6 million liters of water, 70,000 tarps and 15,000 rolls of roof sheeting.” Ships from the U.S. Maritime Service are also on their way to the island, loaded with supplies and FEMA personnel. But pallets upon pallets of water, meals-ready-to-eat (MREs) and other supplies are sitting on the tarmac because there are so few working buses and few traversable roads.

Remember also that enormous relief efforts requiring FEMA and military assistance are still ongoing in Texas, Florida, and many other Caribbean islands. And on top of that, the military also has its day job of protecting the country and fighting bad guys. (But Northern Command has promised it will increase its presence significantly in the coming days.)

Puerto Rico doesn’t need a relief operation — it needs an aid package the magnitude of the Marshall Plan.

The federal government has its hands full, and recovery will take a long time. Meanwhile, snarky comments from armchair analysts hoping to score political points add nothing to the relief effort.