Puerto Rico: US general overseeing emergency operation says damage is 'worst he's ever seen'

Just half the island has access to clean drinking water

The officer said some rebuilding would have to 'start from scratch' (Getty)

The three-star general leading the US military’s emergency response in Puerto Rico has said the damage there is “the worst he has ever seen”.

As President Donald Trump engages in a strident condemnation of the mayor of San Juan, whom he judged had criticised the federal government’s actions, Lt Gen Jeffrey Buchanan underscored the challenge facing the island of 3.5m people, where half of residents do not have access to clean drinking water and only five per cent have electricity.

“Sometimes we don’t know what’s going to happen until the storm actually hits,” said Mr Buchanan. “And this is the worst I’ve ever seen.”

Speaking to PBS, Mr Buchanan, the commander of US Army North and the chief liaison with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said the biggest challenge remained reaching remote parts on the interior of the island.

Many, many roads had been blocked by downed debris and emergency crews were having to clear those routes in order to be able to deliver food, water and fuel. He said they were “slowing working our way in”.

“I’m not a Republican, I’m not a Democrat, I’m not a member of the blue party, I’m not a member of the green party - I’m a soldier and I’m here to help people,” he said. “People here need help and we going to give them as much help as we can.”

Mr Buchanan, who was appointed to the task by the Pentagon last week as the White House sought to fend of criticism that it was not responding sufficiently to the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which tore into the island ten days ago, said only 16 of the island’s 69 hospitals were operating off the regular electricity grid.

He said the remainder were functioning off emergency generators and it was essential to provide diesel fuel and generator maintenance in the short-term, to enable them to function. Looking ahead, there was a need to repair the electricity grid that was largely destroyed, he added.

“The people of Puerto Rico are resilient and we’re going to need them to be resilient to rebuild this commonwealth,” he said. “In some places were going to have to start from scratch.”

Over the weekend, Mr Trump launched a series of attacks on the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, who on Friday accused the Trump administration of “killing us with the inefficiency”.

She begged the President, who is set to visit Puerto Rico next week, to “make sure somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives” and appealed for help “to save us from dying”.

In one of many tweets published from his private golf club in New Jersey where he spent the weekend, Mr Trump said: “We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico. Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates…..people are now starting to recognise the amazing work that has been done by FEMA and our great military.”