Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said on Monday that Congress should turn their attention to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean before the humanitarian crisis there gets out of control.
Romney tweeted that he spoke with former Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuno that the American territory is on the “brink of a humanitarian disaster.” Some Puerto Rican officials say the damage from Maria was so extensive, it set the island back 20 or 30 years. Romney also said that lawmakers should “put aside controversies” and prioritize rescue operations for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Just spoke w/ fmr Gov @luisfortuno51: “PR on brink of humanitarian disaster.” USVI too. DC must put aside controversies, prioritize rescue.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) September 25, 2017
Hurricane Maria brought massive amounts of destruction to the Caribbean as whipping winds and relentless rain reduced buildings to shambles and claimed the lives of more than a dozen people in the region.
It could be months before they restore power as repair efforts just begin to get underway, officials say.
Federal emergency relief resources are already strained after a wave of powerful storms hit the U.S. over the past two months, leaving other parts of the country reeling from natural disasters like Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló called the Category 4 storm the “most devastating storm to hit the island this century, if not in modern history.”
