By The Star Staff
Forty-five days after the hurricane season began in Puerto Rico and close to the most active period, at least 35% to 45% of the shelters enabled throughout the island lack optimal conditions to offer security and emotional stability to citizens in case of emergency or disaster, Puerto Rico Citizen Ombudsman Edwin García Feliciano said Sunday.
García Feliciano revealed the findings of an investigation conducted for the third consecutive year by his office on the conditions of the 365 shelters operating in the island’s 78 municipalities. The outlook is gloomy, he said.
The ombudsman reached that conclusion after actively evaluating 94 randomly selected shelters, which constituted the sample for the study conducted in May and June. That is why, he said, he was emphatic in highlighting that if the data on the recently visited 94 shelters is extrapolated to all the shelters, it would have to be concluded that between 35 and 45% of the shelters available for an emergency would not be ready. At least they do not have essential services such as cisterns, generators and sanitary services.
In fact, the official said, he was totally dissatisfied with the government’s response regarding the safety of people who preventively take refuge in the event of disasters.
“Agencies cannot take for granted that the shelter will be for a handful of days. We have had experiences with people in shelters for weeks and months!” García Feliciano said. “So, why the apathy and neglect? Why the indifference?”
The ombudsman insisted that Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutuia must give instructions that generators and cisterns that work be placed in all shelters so that the assigned personnel will be able to provide the necessary services during an emergency.
“Moreover, why were no financial resources allocated to address this issue from the multiple federal funds allocated under [Hurricane] Maria and the [COVID-19] pandemic?” he asked. “Is the real problem a lack of will?”
The recent evaluation produced very significant data, the ombudsman noted:
* 78 shelters have cisterns, of which only 55 are working, while 23 are not;
* 39 shelters are without any cistern service or it is not connected to the drinking water supply;
* Of 94 shelters inspected, 36 of them have an electrical generator, but only 26 of them are working;
* 53 schools do not have a generator, for a grand total of 68 shelters that do not have an electric generator; if they have them, they don’t work.
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