Compounding Catastrophe in Puerto Rico

More than one million. That is the number of applications for financial assistance that have been submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) by residents of Puerto Rico needing home repairs. Congressman Adriano Espaillat has introduced the Housing Victims of Major Disasters Act, which is designed to ease requirements on what information homeowners must share with FEMA in order to receive money for home repairs. At a press conference in Manhattan on May 21, Espaillat noted that most of the rejections are due to residents being unable to prove that they own their homes. “These properties have been passed on from generation to generation, and many of them lack deeds or other legal documentation that will establish their ownership,” said Espaillat. The agency stated that it would be the final extension of the program, a deadline that Espaillat took issue with.