FEMA Pressured to Embrace Solar for Disaster Recovery

In 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico (PR), killing approximately 2,975 people and causing $90 Billion in damage.

The actual number of people who died during Maria remains under dispute.

Initially, the Puerto Rican government, which operates semi-autonomously from the US, claimed that only 64 people died as a direct result of Hurricane Maria.

Amid significant pushback and accusations of a coverup, CNN and Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI) sued the government to release the raw mortality data. 

Following a court victory for the press, the government commissioned an independent study by George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health.

That study estimated the death toll at 2,975, a figure now adopted as the official count. 

Crucially, most of these were not 'direct' deaths from wind or rain, but excess deaths caused by Maria's aftermath, specifically the lack of access to power and medical care.

An authoritative study from Harvard University puts the toll much higher at approximately 4,645 people. 

Regardless of the exact number, Hurricane Maria qualifies as one of the deadliest disasters in U.S. history, driven largely by an unprecedented power grid collapse that left some residents in the dark for nearly 11 months.

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States. It has no voting representation on the floor of the House or Senate.

Puerto Ricans can't vote in presidential general elections unless they establish permanent residency within one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia.

Although Puerto Rico uses US dollars and people born there are US citizens by birth, the territory and its residents have very little practical say in American governance unless they leave the island permanently.

Despite this lack of political voice, the U.S. federal government remains legally bound to aid the island during natural disasters and other crises.

Under the Stafford Act, Puerto Rico is defined as a 'State' for the purposes of disaster assistance from the US federal government. 

Puerto Rico's residents are U.S. citizens and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is mandated to coordinate response efforts and deploy resources just as it would for a federal disaster declared in Florida, California, or Texas.

Just like in any other state, FEMA is also required to fund recovery efforts in the aftermath of a catastrophic event like Hurricane Maria. 

FEMA's legal obligations and PR's lack of a say in Washington creates an uneasy dynamic.

Puerto Rico lacks direct congressional leverage to dictate when, how, (and how much) of the disaster relief financing appropriated by Congress is made available and spent. 

But PR is fully entitled by law to the aid itself.

This imbalance makes the court system one of the few powerful tools Puerto Ricans have to hold FEMA accountable and ensure its statutory obligations are met in a way that truly serves the territory's future.