Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico in response to the earthquakes.
"We are concerned about potential impacts of this week's earthquakes on the lives of our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico. Across HHS, we have worked closely with the territory's health and human services authorities on disaster recovery, and will continue to do everything we can to help ensure the health and well-being of people across the island," he said. Power has now been restored to 550,000 homes in Puerto Rico, about 33% of the customers across the island.
"The town of 18,000 located near the southern coast hasn't been getting regular updates, she said. Residents are disinclined to leave their homes because they don't know what areas are safe. Rodriguez worries that recovery will be difficult, especially for those hit hard by Maria, she said. Tatiana Rodriguez, right, and family members are taking shelter at a school in Guayanilla. "There are a lot of people that started from zero because of Maria," she said.
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