People discovered a warehouse filled with water, cots and other unused emergency supplies, then set off a social media uproar when they broke in to retrieve goods.
Advertisement“This is outrageous,” she said. “Everyone knows what us mayors went through after Hurricane Maria to try and get help to our cities and how we’ve worked these weeks to provide basic supplies to people affected by earthquakes. Those involved owe us an explanation.”
Inés Rivera, spokeswoman for the city of Ponce, told the Associated Press that the warehouse is owned by Puerto Rico’s Trade and Export Company. Officials with the company could not be reached for comment. The information upset many in Puerto Rico already angry over the government’s botched response to Hurricane Maria, with similar incidents of supplies going unused and being uncovered months later.
Ponce is one of several cities in the island’s southern region hit by the recent 6.4 magnitude earthquake that killed one person and caused damage estimated to be more than $200 million. More than 7,000 people remain in shelters since the quake. The governor said she has sent the Puerto Rican Senate her nomination of José Reyes, who oversees the National Guard in Puerto Rico, to be the new commissioner for the State Bureau for Emergency Management and Disaster Management.
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