Discovery of unused disaster supplies angers Puerto Rico

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By DANICA COTO

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — People in a southern Puerto Rico city discovered a warehouse filled with water, cots and other unused emergency supplies, then set off a social media uproar Saturday when they broke in to retrieve goods as the area struggles to recover from a strong earthquake.

With anger spreading in the U.S. territory after video of the event in Ponce appeared on Facebook, Gov. Wanda Vázquez quickly fired the director of the island’s emergency management agency.

The governor said she had ordered an investigation after learning the emergency supplies had been piled in the warehouse since Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico in September 2017.

Vázquez said inaction by the fired official, Carlos Acevedo, was unacceptable.



In this Friday, Jan. 10 photo, residents from the Indios neighborhood of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, Milagros Figueroa and Ruben Fantausi, sit under a tarp between vehicles parked on a private hay farm where locals affected by earthquakes have set up shelter amid aftershocks in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico. A 6.4 magnitude quake that toppled or damaged hundreds of homes in southwestern Puerto Rico is raising concerns about where displaced families will live, while the island still struggles to rebuild from Hurricane Maria two years ago. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)


Read more: https://apnews.com/5c2b896abb3f28aa59babc47c158b155

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Unacceptable? I'd rather say it was criminal or worse. Negligent.

I hope the people got what they needed.

[sheshe2]

2. +1000

[James48]

3. I saw the video on social media.

This first thing that I thought of, was, what if those are the supplies staged for the NEXT disaster?

I’m sorry, but it looked a lot more like a warehouse for the future emergency use, and, if it was that, all those people just screwed themselves.

Be careful what you think you see, because there could be another explanation.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. What's the point of stocking supplies for a future emergency when

people need the same things in the immediate emergency?

You provide supplies and restock later.

[killaphill]

5. The next disaster?

Puerto Rico just suffered a horrible earthquake. Thousands of people are homeless. Does that not qualify? Or have you not been watching the news?

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Again ? Isn't this the third time or so ? nt

[VarryOn]

7. How in the hell could this happen...

Other than due to corruption?

[sdfernando]

8. my first though as well. /nt