Heavy rains expected to continue over the nextfew days place Puerto Rico’s entire infrastructure in an increasingly precarious state, and threaten the already deteriorated conditions for hundreds of thousands of people whose homes have been affected, many of whom have lost their homes outrightand don’t even have the temporary “Blue Roof” offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that could protect them.
Operation Blue Roof provides a temporary covering of reinforced blue plastic sheeting to help reducefurther damage to properties until permanent repairscan be made. Blue Roofs are designed to last about 30 days. To date, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has received more than 2,800 requests for Blue Roof repairs and has installed more than 250.
Given this fact, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares warned Monday that this week’s rains will cause renewed impact for victims of Hurricane Maria, who must seek refuge and protection.
A tropical depression is expected to drench most of the island (with the possible exception of the southern town of Ponce) with rains and thunderstorms overthe next three days.
According to an Inter News Service report, theso-called “vaguada” will likely make it difficult to deliver assistance to those families who need it, especially those in mountainous and flood-prone areas.