Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello announced a new hurricane preparation plan, one year after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, parts of which still have not recovered.
The Category 5 storm killed nearly 3,000 people on Puerto Rico — many of whom died after the storm had passed because of a lack of emergency supplies and resources.
Rossello said the new strategic storm preparation plan includes two warehouses stocked with food and water with two more set to open soon.
Vulnerable populations are now officially listed, especially residents of nursing homes.
There are also new satellite communication systems, underground lines, and plans for 168 generators earmarked for the island's water and sewer companies.
Parts of the island are still a wreck a year after the storm. Intermittent power outages are a problem and many people have no roof on their home — just a blue tarp.
Despite Puerto Rico's struggles, President Donald Trump — who complained after the storm last year that Puerto Ricans "want everything done for them" — on Tuesday called his administration's response to the disaster "incredibly successful."
Trump made the comment while discussing federal preparations for Hurricane Florence, which is expected to make landfall along the North Carolina coast Friday and is predicted to be one of the most powerful storms in nearly three decades to slam into the mid-Atlantic region.
At the conclusion of a briefing by the heads of the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the president said, "We are sparing no expense. We are totally prepared."
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz told CNN that the president's words Tuesday added "insult to injury," saying he has no idea what is going on there. She said he has "no empathy" for anything that doesn't make him look good.
