Erika Santelices | AFP | Getty Images President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the federal government will fully cover costs related to Hurricane Fiona relief in Puerto Rico for the next month. “I have authorized 100% – 100% federal funding for debris removal, search and rescue, water restoration and shelter and food for the entire month,” Biden said. “To the people of Puerto Rico who are still affected by Hurricane Maria five years later, you should know that we are with you. We are not going away. I mean it.” Hurricane Fiona caused catastrophic damage across Puerto Rico, leaving more than 1.4 million people without power in its immediate aftermath. The storm, which dropped up to 30 inches of rain in some areas, knocked out power and access to running water across most of the island. Biden made the announcement at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region 2 headquarters at One World Trade Center in New York. The president on Wednesday approved a major disaster declaration for Puerto Rico. That followed an emergency declaration approved Sunday before the hurricane made landfall that allows FEMA to give immediate payments to those affected for temporary housing and home repairs. FEMA may also offer low-cost loans, according to the statement. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell traveled to the island Tuesday to assess the damage. He sat next to Biden at the briefing in New York. “We’re laser-focused on what happened to the people in Puerto Rico again. We’re talking almost to the day, at least to the week, five years after the devastating Hurricane Maria [the island]”We are increasing federal resources to Puerto Rico and will do everything we can to meet their urgent needs,” Biden said. Aid to Puerto Rico was one of Biden’s campaign pledges. He had said former President Donald Trump “made things worse” for the island with his response to Hurricane Maria in 2017. Nearly 3,000 people died on the island as a result of the storm, which left hundreds of thousands without power for months.
