As has been observed by many on the internet: While the world is singularly focused on the obnoxious funeral for the Queen, millions are in a catastrophe in Puerto Rico. After Hurricane Fiona ripped through the island last weekend, the entire population of over 3 million has been left without electricity and nearly 200,000 without potable water. Scenes of flooding are horrifying, as the heavy rains found water infrastructure totally unprepared to handle that much runoff, with many houses and portions of cities being washed away. Some are even saying that, even though the winds are much less than during Hurricane Maria, the damage is worse because of the rain and floods.
Of particular note is the state’s electricity utility LUMA, a Canadian company, which has received renewed criticisms for its failure to provide a reliable electrical grid. It is the result of a privatization scheme for Puerto Rico, leaving it woefully underprepared, and this after having suffered during Hurricane Maria in 2017, which left parts of the island without power for as much as one year. Former Mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulín Cruz, told CNN in an interview that with LUMA, “privatization reared its ugly head.”
Fiona has now headed into the Dominican Republic as of this writing, and reports of citizens losing power and water there are also very high.
