'We are resilient': Puerto Ricans in Tampa Bay hope for loved ones' safety after Hurricane Fiona
TAMPA, Fla. - The relief effort is beginning in Puerto Rico as hundreds of thousands of Floridians hope for the safety of loved ones. Hurricane Fiona has killed at least two people, left hundreds homeless and the entire island without power.
Linda Perez, the president of Boricuas de Corazon Disaster Relief, just got back to Tampa after six hours on the ground in Puerto Rico. She said she was in shock as she took photos of the damages inflicted by Hurricane Fiona.
"My whole family and my heart is in Puerto Rico," said Perez.
It was a trip the relief coordinator made, so she could take stock of what Puerto Ricans need most.
Perez said there was major difference she noticed between Hurricane Maria and Fiona. Maria brought winds to the island, but Fiona brought water, and Perez said the water destroyed more than the winds.
RELATED: Hurricane Fiona leaves extensive flooding, damage in parts of Puerto Rico
Other than the power being out, she said her family survived relatively unscathed. She's not surprised, though, that the island had no ability to withstand such a hit.
"We need to make sure we are saving the most lives possible, not what happened in Hurricane Maria before," Perez said.
Puerto Ricans have watched their patchwork power grid and infrastructure fail, especially stopgaps that were put in place after Hurricane Maria killed 3,000 people five years ago. The Biden Administration has declared a state of emergency and said the FEMA administrator will be on the ground Tuesday.
"We are resilient, but we really need answers," said Kristy Padilla of Tampa, who moved to the US mainland after she experienced Hurricane Maria in 2017.
She is one of approximately 1,200,000 Floridians who have family in Puerto Rico.
"We are just tired of having a good electricity system that is not working," she said. "We need to provide a good electricity system for the island."
Perez said they desperately need food supplies, as well as teams that can cut up fallen trees and help administer medicine, especially to the elderly.
"It's terrible. So many flooded areas," she said. "We don't deserve this. This has been happening. The government has not been taking care of our country."
After Hurricane Maria, congress set aside $10 billion to rebuild the power grid, but outages have continued while prices have gone up. Just last month, there were large protests calling for the governor to resign, and for the government to cancel the contract with the power provider.
The White House said there are already 300 federal workers in Puerto Rico. President Biden also told the governor Monday that the number will increase substantially.
The Coast Guard reopened seven ports Monday, mostly in the north. The ports in the south still need to be evaluated.