Seven years after the devastation of Hurricane Maria – and with continued blackouts caused by storms and spotty coverage – the government of Puerto Rico has not created a comprehensive plan to identify and notify people with special needs who could die without electricity to run dialysis machines and other equipment. With support from the Fund, the nonprofit Centro de Periodismo Investigativo in Puerto Rico obtained thousands of emails, reports and other documents showing a pattern of finger-pointing, misinformation and negligence by officials. In response to the investigation, Puerto Rico’s governor said that there should be one registry and Puerto Rico’s Department of Health issued an order to start collecting data from health insurers on how many people would be affected – but there is still not a registry with names and contact information that would enable the government and nonprofit aid groups to help people whose lives could be endangered by power outages.
Puerto Rico has failed to create a registry of people vulnerable during power blackouts; grantee reporting sparks reform
