Harvey, Irma, Maria: Trump Administration’s Response Compared

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/us/politics/trump-puerto-rico-aid.html

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WASHINGTON — Has the Trump administration’s response to Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico been slower and stingier than for earlier storms in Florida and Texas? As hundreds of thousands of people on the island continue to struggle, critics have barraged the administration with complaints, and the administration has pushed back.

Early Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security used a conference call with reporters to address one of the sorest points: a decision not to waive a little-known shipping law called the Jones Act for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the way the department had for areas affected by two previous storms. The law requires that all goods shipped from one American port to another be carried on American-registered ships with American crews.

During Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the department waived the Jones Act’s restrictions so that foreign tankers could carry oil from the Gulf of Mexico to refineries on the East Coast, making up for pipelines that had been damaged by the storms. Waiving the law now would allow foreign cargo ships to carry supplies to the devastated islands from the American mainland. But Homeland Security officials defended their decision not to do so, saying on Wednesday that there were enough American ships to do the job and that the law’s restrictions should be set aside only when national security is at stake.

Maria was the third major hurricane to confront the administration in a month. All three flooded towns and cities; knocked out power, cellphone coverage and water supplies; and wrecked houses and farms, businesses and infrastructure over wide areas.

Some lawmakers have accused President Trump of failing to respond adequately to the crisis in Puerto Rico, saying that he spent this past weekend focused on football players kneeling during the national anthem instead. But an analysis of Mr. Trump’s actions paints a more complicated picture.

White House statements show that Mr. Trump approved major disaster declarations and ordered federal aid for the states of Texas and Florida, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico equally quickly — in each case, on the day the hurricane made landfall.

He was not equally quick to visit each place in the storms’ aftermath. Mr. Trump went to both Florida and Texas four days after landfall, but six days elapsed after Maria struck Puerto Rico before he had even promised to go there, and the visit is not scheduled to happen until nearly two weeks after the storm.

It is difficult to directly compare the quantity and speed of resource distribution during and after the three storms. Mr. Trump pointed out that getting relief aid to Puerto Rico posed unique challenges.

“It’s on an island in the middle of the ocean,” he said on Tuesday. “You can’t just drive your trucks there from other states.”

Here is a more detailed look at how the administration responded during the three major hurricanes.

Most affected area: Texas

Landfall there: Friday, Aug. 25

Disaster declaration approved and federal aid ordered: Friday, Aug. 25

President promises to visit: Sunday, Aug. 27

President visits: Tuesday, Aug. 29

Tracking F.E.M.A. support via its updates on Twitter:

Aug. 27:

Aug. 29:

Aug. 30:

Sept. 4.:

Most affected area: Florida

Landfall there: Sunday, Sept. 10

Disaster declaration approved and federal aid ordered: Sunday, Sept. 10

President promises to visit: Wednesday, Sept. 13

President visits: Thursday, Sept. 14

Tracking F.E.M.A. support via its updates on Twitter:

Sept. 10:

Sept. 19:

Most affected area: Puerto Rico

Landfall there: Wednesday, Sept. 20

Disaster declaration approved and federal aid ordered: Wednesday, Sept. 20

President promises to visit: Tuesday, Sept. 26

President scheduled to visit: Tuesday, Oct. 3

Tracking F.E.M.A. support via its updates on Twitter:

Sept. 22:

Sept. 25: