On Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States of America. The powerful storm knocked out almost all of the island’s resources – stranding US citizens with little or no access to clean water, fuel or means of communication.
Source: CBS News
The federal response to this catastrophe has been slow:
- The Department of Homeland Security lifted a shipping restriction called the Jones Act for relief from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on mainland USA, but refused to do so for Puerto Rico’s damage after Hurricane Maria until several days (and much criticism) later.
- POTUS claimed “The response and recovery effort probably has never been seen for something like this. This is an island surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water” in a public speech, attempting to defend the administration’s slow response.
- POTUS had a series of tweets that disparaged Puerto Rico’s leadership (part 1, part 2, and part 3) and called out “fake” US news for criticizing the stunted relief efforts for the US territory.
Due to the limited federal response, many have taken it upon themselves to fundraise independently for Puerto Rico relief efforts. Several faculty members at UC Davis have created their own fundraiser for Puerto Rico’s relief efforts. Started by Alexandra Colón on Sept. 26, this GoFundMe will donate all of the money it raises to the Hispanic Federation Maria Relief Funds for Puerto Rico.
The GoFundMe page currently shows $4,005 raised with a goal of $10,000. These proceeds will help Puerto Ricans who desperately need access to food, clean water, gas and other necessities.
Anyone can donate any amount that they can. Aggies, let’s rally with these amazing faculty members and help as much as we can.