U.S. News

Actions

Top US Army Engineer Isn't Happy With Puerto Rico's Maria Recovery

A top U.S. Army engineer says he isn't too happy that many Puerto Ricans are still without power more than 150 days after Hurricane Maria.
Posted at 2:33 PM, Feb 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-22 14:33:14-05

A top U.S. Army engineer says he's not happy that many Puerto Ricans still don't have power five months after Hurricane Maria put the island in the dark.

According to ABC, Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite said during an interview Wednesday: "I am not satisfied that people in Puerto Rico should have to wait that much time for power. But I am telling you, there are no other knobs I can turn to go any faster."

As of Wednesday, about 84 percent of residents on the island had power.

In October, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló had pledged to restore power to 95 percent of the island by late last year. But even he said that estimate was "aggressive."

ABC reports the Army Corps of Engineers now hopes to reach that goal by the end of March.