back to article How about that US isle wrecked by a hurricane, no power, comms... yes, we mean Puerto Rico

Jessica Rosenworcel, one of the commissioners at America's broadband watchdog the FCC, has reiterated her call for hearings into what is happening with communications on the hurricane-stricken island of Puerto Rico. In late September, Hurricane Maria smashed into the strangely neglected US territory, leaving it mostly without …

  1. PhilipN Silver badge

    Puerto Rico - What you do not see on CNN

    Mate of mine had two daughters living on BVI with their families including one baby when the hurricane hit. Evacuated to Puerto Rico after three days with just the clothes on their backs.

    He said the people in Puerto Rico had been "incredibly kind" with clothes and food and especially helping with care of the littl'un.

    One day I'll share my tourist dollars there just to show appreciation.

  2. TheVogon

    They need to do an "Iceland". Declare bankruptcy and then go back to the money markets...

    1. MonkeyCee

      It's been a little while since I checked, but I believe that PR was in fact already bankrupt (or insolvent at least) before the latest hurricane season.

      How they got there is a typical mix of government pissing around, greed, and being one of those odd bits of the USA that aren't a state.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. kain preacher

      They can not do to federal law.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Holmes

    Standards needed

    "Despite the extremely slow recovery..."

    I call BS. The author makes this assertion and then moves on, without ever showing that it is indeed an "extremely slow recovery." But the article's entire thesis rests on that assertion.

    Just what are the recovery speed standards for large, utterly wrecked caribbean islands coming right after an even bigger megacity got trashed on the mainland? Is there a PDF for that?

    1. ckm5

      Re: Standards needed

      Being without power & water for six weeks after a major disaster is rightly called a slow recovery. And now generators (which have been running non-stop because there is no power) are failing - http://www.bradenton.com/news/weather/hurricane/article183526446.html There is no excuse, in a first-world country, for 20% of the population to be without water and thousands more at risk due to emergency systems breaking down.

      By compairson, 96% of Houston had it's power back (http://abc13.com/96-percent-of-centerpoint-customers-have-power/2340044/) 10 days after Harvey, Puerto Rico, not so much, only 41% is restored 7 weeks after Maria (https://www.buzzfeed.com/nidhiprakash/most-of-puerto-rico-just-lost-power-again-after-a-line?utm_term=.clekQRDDAv#.vhqaW8mm6e) and it's not exactly back to normal...

      Really, this is shameful. Lack of cell service is even more shameful given how easy it is to deploy portable cell towers (cf. any large crowd gathering, sports, music festivals, etc)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Standards needed

        > "Being without power & water for six weeks after a major disaster is rightly called a slow recovery."

        Sure, but so is any other time period. The fact is it's taking as long as it's actually taking. Some say malfeasance is why, and others say "Giant wind blow down whole island, go boom," and then they get on with things as best they can.

        What's really driving the "slow" charges is that if made stickable, they may then be stuck on You Know Who, by extension. It's a time-honoured political tactic. Get it? :)

        1. Sanguma

          Re: Standards needed

          "What's really driving the "slow" charges is that if made stickable, they may then be stuck on You Know Who, by extension. It's a time-honoured political tactic. Get it? :)"

          You know, I saw on BBC a week or so after the hurricane, these enormous stacks of containers of emergency supplies piled up at the Puerto Rican ports: that's it, just stacked. Nothing had been done to access them to get the emergency supplies out to the people who needed them.

          And I thought, every container stacked here and useless is a vote for Puerto Rican independence. Every hour they sit there useless, that is another vote for Puerto Rican independence. Something to do with some obscure document called the US Declaration of Independence, where some obscure characters called out some lout called the English King, one King George, over non-performance of something as simple as making sense. Making policies that didn't get up noses.

          But of course, such obscure rants on obscure topics such as "No taxation without representation" can't apply to Hispanics, according to my reading of DC tea leaves - the ones that the Beltway hasn't already smoked, that is.

          1. strum

            Re: Standards needed

            >And I thought, every container stacked here and useless is a vote for Puerto Rican independence.

            More immediately, a substantial (six figure) population of Puerto Ricans have already migrated to FLA.

            Anyone think they'll vote Republican?

        2. MonkeyCee

          Re: Standards needed

          Strange, I thought Trump was very keen on sticking it to PR. Well, to the Mayor at least. He's also very keen on explaining just how awesome *his* response to the disasters has been, without actually doing anything to fix the situation.

          For example, look at the difference in mobilisation of FEMA. Did you vote for Trump? Then lets get cracking! Don't wait on that dumb paperwork. You don't get to vote for president at all? Well, we'll need that requisition form in triplicate, with a business case for each item, submitted before said disater occurred.

          The US response has been lackluster. What's the point in having massive projection of naval power if you can't use it to save your own citizens. I'd make jokes about the French and Dutch being more militarily effective than the USA or the Brits, but that stopped being funny after about five years of the GWOT. Bit of sad day when the leader of the free world is French, but c'est la vie.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Standards needed

            "Strange, I thought Trump was very keen on sticking it to PR. "

            Not really, but black people / foreign types are not very likely to vote for him so you can see why he might not give a crap!

          2. Sanguma

            Re: Standards needed

            "The US response has been lackluster. What's the point in having massive projection of naval power if you can't use it to save your own citizens."

            You don't get votes by feeding people. Infrastructure's a poor cousin to thuggishly beating the hell out of some poor foreigners based on "sexed-up" "intelligence" ...

        3. Muscleguy

          Re: Standards needed

          I suggest you look at how fast such things were fixed in New Zealand after both the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes. Kaikoura was initially completely cut off, no communications, no power, water and sewage cut, thousands of tourists in town. The tourists were taken off in a RNZN tender ship. Their campervans and hire cars were stockpiled until road connections were re-established to a decent degree.

          The telcos worked hard, helicoptering in tech teams and got cell coverage fixed within 48hours.

          Kaikoura sits at the head of river valley half way along the Kaikoura coast which is Maritime Alps which rise directly out of the sea with a deep underwater subduction canyon right off shore where sperm whales dive for giant and colossal squid.

          The main road and only rail line run along that coast, cut into the mountainsides with the sea on the other side. They swap which one is seaward and which landward at various points via rail tunnels.

          There is one other road, up the river valley and over, a minor road. It also suffered damage including bridges destroyed. For some time it was the only route, in daylight hours only in guided convoys.

          On State Highway 1, the main N-S route the mountains fell on it, the quake uplifted, broke and shifted it. In places the rails were shifted across the road and left suspended over the uplifted seaward rocks.

          It reopens in a fragile, still, being worked on, only during daylight hours just before Xmas. An enormous effort requiring advanced geotechnical techniques has been required. Many thousands of helicopter hours, sluicing land slips, ferrying workers and materials. Dozens of people are employed purely to move on NZ fur seals getting in the way of the works. It is currently their breeding season, bulls have set up territories along the coast.

          Beautiful, isolated and very, very rugged.

          NZ is not a rich nation, it is only just first world and not everywhere. The money was found, the works planned and started, usually started before all the plans are in, they are still planning. In places the road will be rebuilt with more room on the uplifted seaward rocks.

          At least they won't have to worry so much about sea level rise affecting the route. By the time sea level reaches the new level another uplift quake will have moved it up again. 2-4m uplift in most places, up to 9m in others. The quake was apparently very loud, the land complained as it was treated as though it was plastic and as the mountains fell down.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Standards needed

            "I suggest you look at how fast such things were fixed in New Zealand"

            But they are solvent...

        4. strum

          Re: Standards needed

          >Get it?

          We get it, all right. White supremacists regard Puerto Ricans as a bit dusky to care about. That's why they're being left behind.

      2. Mark 85

        Re: Standards needed

        I suspect that lines being down and power generation plants be damaged are two separate problems. Houston's power is feed in from outside the area, as I recall. Puerto Rico's power is locally generated. That could be a large part of the problem. A lot easier to repair/replace power lines than generation plants. So.. I'm not sure but if it's a shortage of parts/equipment than that needs to be addressed. If it's politics.. that's bullshit.

    2. Ian Michael Gumby
      Boffin

      Re: Standards needed

      Slow recovery because prior to the hurricane hitting, they had a substandard infrastructure due to government incompetence.

      No power, no matter how many cell towers you get up... you're SOL.

      They could put up towers, solar panels and diesel generators, but there's a bit more because the infrastructure is wiped. out.

  4. Florida1920
    Headmaster

    The answer is simple

    The two U.S. states hit hardest this year, Texas and Florida, both went solidly for Trump in last year's presidential election. Puerto Ricans can't vote in presidential elections.

    1. A K Stiles
      Coat

      Re: The answer is simple

      Wouldn't this normally be the point that someone claims it was retribution from $DEITY for some perceived malfeasance to whatever they consider to be 'right and proper' ? Or does that only work when it happens to 'someone else'?

      1. Florida1920

        Re: The answer is simple

        Wouldn't this normally be the point that someone claims it was retribution from $DEITY for some perceived malfeasance to whatever they consider to be 'right and proper' ?
        Yes, but those someones are too busy right now making excuses for Roy Moore.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The answer is simple

      The answer is simple, and that is that PR is over 1,000km from the US mainland, and was wholly trashed. There's no rich neighbouring territories, everything has to be fixed locally, or comes in by ship (through ports and onward infrastrucure that have all been hit hard by the hurricane).

      PR is nothing like as developed as the US mainland, it is relatively poor, there's no excess capacity that can be called in, nowhere local that's been less badly affected. And even if the US govt threw the entire weight of military and FEMA at the problem, you can't do all of this at once. Every worker, every reconstruction asset needs support, needs to get around. Over-burden the island and things get fixed slower, not quicker. Clear one bottleneck and another appears. Consider concrete. If the US supply more cement, there will be problems of concrete mixing. If they supply more concrete mixing facilities, they need power. Fix the power, you need more cement mixing trucks to transport. Get the concrete to site, you find there's no wood for shuttering and formwork. Get the wood, you're out of rebar. Ship in the rebar, find that all the trucks for haulage are in use - send more trucks, find that the diesel fuel logistics are maxed out. Fix the diesel supply, find that every skilled worker is already taken. Hire some mainland workers, find that the airport's at capacity, get them in, find there's no accomodation.....

      It goes on and on and on. I have no favouritism for Trump or Pai, but the rebuilding of an entire island in the middle of nowhere is a huge undertaking, and it will take many years.

    3. phuzz Silver badge

      Re: The answer is simple

      "Puerto Ricans can't vote in presidential elections."

      The ones who are moving to Florida will be able to...

    4. strum

      Re: The answer is simple

      >Puerto Ricans can't vote in presidential elections.

      They can, if they migrate to Florida (over 100,000 already have).

  5. Someone Else Silver badge

    That reminds me...

    [It's been] 54 days since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico," she tweeted this morning. "Forty per cent of the cell sites remain out of service. This is an unprecedented loss of communications. It deserves an unprecedented response from the FCC. But to date no hearings, no report, no date by which service will be fully restored."

    For reasons I will likely never understand, that last sentence took me back to a time when, as a DJ on a lightly-formatted rock station in the 70's that was being slowly strangled by this new-fangled Formatting sensation, I recall the dismissive sentence our newly brainwashed Program Manager would lay on us when we wanted to play what is nowadays referred to as a "Deep Track". That sentence:

    "Too Long, Too Down, No Play!"

    I suspect that dismissive sentence has been resurrected and updated within the halls of the New Republican Administration, where the Program Manager-in-Chief would gleefully repeat:

    "Too Small, Too Brown, No Way!"

    (Of course, there may be other variants that apply here, too....)

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    But how are the golf courses?

    As long as the greens are free of debris, everything is good.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    cynical.

    How's the Snail Mail doing?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Mushroom

    Hey USA

    get rid of your shipping taxes to your own regions. It makes you look nothing more than greedy money grabbing corrupt bastards.

    Read up on the Jones Act and how fucks over these people.

    Scumbags.

  9. This post has been deleted by its author

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That's because the US government has failed

    The majority of posts required for a functioning government remain unfilled one year on, and those in position are woefully unskilled and incapable of doing them.

    If there is no profit for a US corporation in doing something, then it's not getting done.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: That's because the US government has failed

      "and those in position are woefully unskilled and incapable of doing them."

      ...and/or get sacked/resign every month or so.

  11. Stevie

    Bah!

    What to do? Nothing!

    Comms are down. It's not like they can tell anyone.

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