Washington (AFP) - President Joe Biden flew to Puerto Rico on Monday to inspect storm damage, saying in a veiled jab at his predecessor Donald Trump that the territory had not "been taken very good care of" during a crippling series of past hurricanes.
The president and First Lady Jill Biden -- who on Wednesday will also visit the devastation caused by deadly Hurricane Ian in Florida -- were headed to Ponce, on the south coast of Puerto Rico, pounded by Hurricane Fiona last month.
"He's going to the hardest hit area of Puerto Rico and it is an area that presidents have not gone to before and I think that shows the president's and the first lady's commitment," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said aboard Air Force One.
It's "an area where people have lost almost everything."
Ahead of the trip, the White House announced $60 million to strengthen storm defenses, including flood barricades and warning systems.
More than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona ended, thousands of people remain without power.Officials said at least seven percent of customers are still without electricity and five percent without water.
The visit is part of a message from the Biden administration that the government is taking responsibility, in contrast to Trump, who publicly fought with the island's leadership and suggested in 2018 that the death tolls from hurricanes were manipulated to make him look "bad."
During a visit to Puerto Rico in 2017 after the especially destructive Hurricane Maria, Trump took flack for an event where he tossed rolls of paper kitchen towels into a crowd of local people whose lives had been turned upside down by flooding and damage.
"I'm heading to Puerto Rico because they haven't been taken very good care of," Biden said on departure from the White House."They've been trying like hell to catch up from the last hurricane.I want to see the state of affairs today and make sure we push everything we can."
Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that mayors on the island she had spoken to "finally feel like this administration cares for them."
Test of leadership
The annual hurricanes often cut a ruinous path from the Caribbean up over Puerto Rico and Cuba or the Bahamas before hitting Florida.
Florida officials said the latest death count from Hurricane Ian was now at least 58, with another four deaths were recorded in North Carolina.
In Puerto Rico, 25 deaths have been linked to Hurricane Fiona, according to the island's public health department, which is still investigating how 12 of the fatalities occurred.
The entire US territory lost power and about one million people were left temporarily without drinking water, when Fiona -- then a Category 1 storm -- hammered the island in mid-September.Biden quickly declared a state of emergency, freeing up federal funds and expertise.
Island residents, all US citizens but without statehood, have complained of being overlooked by Washington after previous disasters, including the hit from twin hurricanes, Irma and Maria, in 2017.
US authorities -- federal, state and local -- are often judged by the effectiveness of their response to such disasters.
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf coast, critics castigated then-president George W. Bush after photos showed him surveying damage while flying high overhead.
