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How New England Is Assisting Puerto Rico In Aftermath Of Hurricanes

A look at the town of Maricao, Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. WNPR's Jeff Cohen spoke to "Vermont Edition" about his recent trip to Puerto Rico.
Ryan Caron King
/
WNPR
A look at the town of Maricao, Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. WNPR's Jeff Cohen spoke to "Vermont Edition" about his recent trip to Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico is still struggling to recover from two damaging storms that have devastated the island territory.

It was initially clipped by Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 hurricane whose eye passed just north of the island. Then Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 mile per hour, made landfall on Wednesday, Sept. 20.

U.S. aid to the island commonwealth has been slow in reaching those affected by these storms.

Vermont Emergency Management announced yesterday that the state "is sending 86 compact radio access network units to Puerto Rico to support communications systems."

Vermont has also sent National Guard staffers to help out in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. And Vermonters have contributed individually as well, with private donations to aid organizations and companies donating their goods and services.

VPR's partners in the New England News Collaborative have also been following aid efforts to Puerto Rico, and Jeff Cohen, news director at WNPR in Hartford, Connecticut, has just returned from a reporting trip to the island.

Cohen spoke with Vermont Edition to update us on what he's seen. You can find WNPR's reporting from Puerto Rico here.

Listen to the complete interview with Cohen from Vermont Edition above. Broadcast live on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017 during the noon hour; rebroadcast during the 7 p.m. hour.

Ric was a producer for Vermont Edition and host of the VPR Cafe.
Jane Lindholm is the host, executive producer and creator of But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids. In addition to her work on our international kids show, she produces special projects for Vermont Public. Until March 2021, she was host and editor of the award-winning Vermont Public program Vermont Edition.
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