Puerto Rico help assessed by U.N.

Some areas still without power

This Oct. 5, 2017 file photo shows Roberto Figueroa Caballero sitting on a small table in his home that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in La Perla neighborhood on the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
This Oct. 5, 2017 file photo shows Roberto Figueroa Caballero sitting on a small table in his home that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in La Perla neighborhood on the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A United Nations expert on poverty and human rights met Monday with hurricane victims in Puerto Rico as complaints grow about the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Maria.

U.N. envoy Philip Alston toured one of the hardest-hit areas in the capital, San Juan.

Alston said there is a disproportionate number of Puerto Ricans living in poverty and that he's trying to assess, among other things, the effectiveness of measures taken by the federal government since the storm hit Sept. 20, killing dozens of people and destroying tens of thousands of homes. Ten of the island's 78 municipalities are still without power, and thousands of businesses remain closed.

"I've visited areas that are still completely without power. I've seen areas that have lots of damage that hasn't been removed, and that must be very distressing after three months," he said.

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Photos by The Associated Press

He walked past homes with no roofs and a woman still washing sheets by hand three months after the Category 4 storm hit.

About 45 percent of Puerto Rico's 3.4 million people were already living below the poverty line before the storm.

Alston said he was impressed with how local nonprofit groups have helped Puerto Ricans recover from the storm, adding that one of the challenges is how the government can harness their power.

"There is more resiliency and potential self-sufficiency here than has been acknowledged," he said.

Alston declined further comment, noting that he will present a full report of his observations and a list of priorities on Friday after a two-week trip that also included visits to several U.S. states.

"There are a number of issues I want to take up," he said.

His visit comes more than a month after a group of U.N. experts criticized the U.S. government for what they said was a lack of urgency and priority in helping Puerto Rico, compared with the aid provided to U.S. states affected by hurricanes.

The U.S. approved nearly $5 billion in aid for Puerto Rico in late October, but local officials say they have not yet received any of those funds. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it has separately approved more than $1 billion in assistance for people on the island.

Puerto Rican community leaders said that people living around the contaminated Martin Pena Channel, which was visited by Alston, did not receive any help from FEMA until a month after the hurricane hit.

"We're not living. We're surviving on what little aid we receive," said resident Mario Nunez. "We have human rights."

By the time FEMA crews reached the house of one of his neighbors, 59-year-old Margarita Carino, she had already gone to the dollar store to buy a tarp and scavenged a nearby contaminated waterway for pieces of zinc and wood that neighbors used to help rebuild her roof. Carino then used tar and paper towels to patch holes in some areas.

"This has been a disaster. ... I've fallen into a depression," she said as she used both hands to wipe away tears.

A Section on 12/12/2017

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