Biden to visit Puerto Rico, Florida in aftermath of Hurricanes Fiona and Ian

Within a 10-day span in September, storm systems in the Atlantic grew to tremendous size. Hurricanes Fiona and Ian terrorized coastal cities and islands. Hurricane Fiona traveled through Puerto Rico, flooding the island and knocking out the island’s electrical grid where weeks later one in five residents are still without power.

President Joe Biden will now travel to the U.S. territory island Monday. Biden is expected to announce $60 million in storm preparedness funds. This is separate from funding for clean up efforts and is for preventative tactics to tackle future threats of flooding in Puerto Rico.

“Our hearts, to state the obvious, it can’t go without saying our hearts are heavy,” President Biden said over the weekend. “The devastating hurricane, the storms in Puerto Rico, Florida and South Carolina. And yes, we owe Puerto Rico a hell of a lot more than they’ve already gotten.”

After his Puerto Rico visit, Biden will stop in Florida to survey its damage Wednesday one week after Hurricane Ian made landfall. At least 80 deaths have been reported. More than 1,100 people have been rescued from inundated parts of Florida according to the Florida governor’s office. More than 689,000 homes, businesses and other customers in Florida still did not have power as of Sunday evening, according to PowerOutage.us.

A familiar face is also helping in the aftermath. Elon Musk has repositioned his Starlink satellites in space toward Florida. It helps to provide internet service to residents who still don’t have it and, without the efforts of Starlink, likely wouldn’t for days to come.

“We are working with Elon Musk and Starlink satellite,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “They are positioning those Starlink satellites to provide good coverage in Southwest Florida and other affected areas.”