Days after Hurricane Maria blew the tropical aura out of Puerto Rico, uniforms and patches from varying federal, state and private aid entities are either on the decimated island or close to arrival. From the local segment of public safety –the Puerto Rico Police Department– two Puerto Rico police officers are now among the death toll.
Puerto Rico Police Department Agents Héctor Matías-Torres and Ángel Loreo-González were discovered by search and rescue teams slowly sifting through the piled debris and peeking through twisted metal. It is believed both policemen drowned in their police cruiser while trying to navigate the island as Hurricane Maria bore-down with unrelenting fury.
As best possible, military police officers (MPs) are patrolling the streets 24/7, supplemented by municipal police from the NYPD and PRPD.
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP), both agents were headed to police HQ after working a 24-hour shift. Their lives ended before the shift did when torrents of rain from Hurricane Maria were so voluminous that their police car was washed into Culebrinas River; both bodies were recovered the following day.
Humanitarian Aid Pours In
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), so far “10,000-plus federal staff are on the ground in Puerto Rico & the U.S. Virgin Islands conducting search & rescue operations, bringing essential supplies (like food, water, fuel, and generators) to affected areas, and restoring power.”
Given Puerto Rico’s only power supply is the government-owned and operated Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and its current power generation capabilities are nothing but a mere trickle, those generators provided by relief agencies are like manna from Heaven.
With Puerto Rico’s Guajataca Lake Dam breaching for days and spilling waters into residential areas, health hazards increase, drinking water is scarce, and medical aid becomes paramount.
More US armed forces arrived recently, with amphibiously-transported personnel and equipment from Fort Bragg, NC whose Medical Company filled the depleted Puerto Rico health care void. Reports are that outmoded Puerto Rico hospitals are on their last leg in terms of structural integrity and able-bodied health personnel are in short supply.
As of this writing, the post-Hurricane Maria death toll in Puerto Rico is at 16 (14 citizens and two cops) and projections of power outage is “long-term.” As best possible, military police officers (MPs) are patrolling the streets 24/7, supplemented by municipal police from the NYPD and PRPD.
Today, the White House announced intentions for President Donald Trump to physically explore the island to make additional assessments so that more resources and humanitarian aid are delivered to Puerto Rico’s government and its citizens.
