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Turning Lights Back on in Puerto Rico will be 'Massive Logistics Challenge'

CBN

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More than a month after Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico with 155-mph winds, the majority of tiny island still remains in the dark.

"We would pass the time crying because I have been through storms but like this one never and thanks be to God that he saw us with pity in his eyes and at least he let us live," said Sofia Gomez, who has had no electricity since the storm hit on September 20th.

Officials say it could take another 8 months for the power grid to be fully restored. The commander of the US Army Corp of Engineers says getting that power up and running will be a "massive logistics challenge."

"The challenge is how do you continue to get that electricity from south to north," said Lieutenant General Todd Semonite, commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers. "Even if in fact all of the power plants are up and running, we would have a generation shortfall."

Help from the Washington is on its way. Congress has approved a $35.6 billion hurricane relief package that will give Puerto Rico an infusion of cash. Up to $5 billion of that money will go to the island's government and various municipalities that have suffered as a result of the storm.

CBN News' Erik Rosales and videographer Mario Gonzales landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Follow along as they bring stories of faith and hope amidst the devastation.

The Category 5 storm, which severely damaged power plants and nearly 80% of the island's electrical grid, struck at a terrible time too, just months after Puerto Rico's main power company filed for bankruptcy and was preparing to make badly needed repairs to the power grid.

"You stop doing your typical maintenance and so you become even that much more susceptible to a storm like Maria and Irma coming and blowing down your towers, water coming up in your substations and flooding them," said Tom Lewis, president of the Louis Berger Group, which has been supplying generators to the island.

As electrical crews fan out across the battered island erecting light poles and power lines, Christian humanitarian groups like Operation Blessing, are building partnerships to bring safe drinking water to islanders.

"Operation Blessing has been working nonstop to help residents of Puerto Rico with a focus on providing safe water, as it remains in critically short supply even a month after the hurricane," said Bill Horan, president of Operation Blessing.

The Virginia-based NGO joined forces with American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Hispanic Federation, to launch Operation Agua to crowdsource contributions and provide reliable source of safe drinking water to families across Puerto Rico.

"I am ecstatic about the launch of Operation Agua and partnering with the AFT, AFSCME, the Hispanic Federation and other like-minded organizations," said Horan in a statement. "The synergistic energy generated by this joint effort will enable us to exponentially expand efforts to provide safe water solutions to vulnerable families all over Puerto Rico."

Days after the storm, Horan's team deployed 9 reverse osmosis systems capable of "desalinating and purifying 1,800 gallons of salt or fresh water per day."

In addition, Operation Blessing has three Sanilac-6 chlorine generators producing 150 gallons of chlorine per day. The group has also distributed more than "100,000 Aquatabs to disinfect drinking water, imported over 20 Kohler generators to provide power and handed out over 3,000 Kohler Clarity water filtration units.

About 1 million American citizens of the U.S. territory — do not have access to safe water.

 

 

 

 

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