FEMA on Puerto Rico: 'It's not nearly as fast as any of us want' | CNN

CNN

Now playing

02:12

Relief supplies stuck at Puerto Rico port

Julian Quiñones/CNN

Stacks upon stacks of bottled water sit near a runway in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, on September 12, 2018.

Now playing

02:42

See untouched water bottles in Puerto Rico

Mario Tama/Getty Images South America/Getty Images

SAN ISIDRO, PUERTO RICO - OCTOBER 15: Uncollected debris stand near damaged homes in an area without electricity on October 15, 2017 in San Isidro, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is suffering shortages of food and water in many areas and only 15 percent of grid electricity has been restored. Puerto Rico experienced widespread damage including most of the electrical, gas and water grid as well as agriculture after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, swept through. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Now playing

01:39

Puerto Rico revises Hurricane Maria death toll

Radio Isla

title: duration: 00:00:00 site: author: published: intervention: yes description: Radio Isla had access to vans that contained water, food, medicine and hundreds of open boxes, many of them with reptile waste and in a state of decomposition. According to sources, the supplies were for the victims of the hurricanes.

Now playing

01:24

Supplies sent to Puerto Rico found abandoned

Mario Tama/Getty Images/File

MOROVIS, PUERTO RICO - DECEMBER 20: A resident, whose home remains without electricity, watches as debris is removed on December 20, 2017 in Morovis, Puerto Rico. Barely three months after Hurricane Maria made landfall, approximately one-third of the devastated island is still without electricity and 14 percent lack running water. While the official death toll from the massive storm remains at 64, The New York Times recently reported the actual toll for the storm and its aftermath likely stands at more than 1,000. Puerto Rico's governor has ordered a review and recount as the holiday season approaches. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Now playing

01:47

Possible epidemic in Puerto Rico after Maria hit

CNN

Now playing

02:04

Suspected deadly bacteria cases in Puerto Rico (2017)

CNN

With hurricane season starting June 1, CNN returns to Puerto Rico to see if the island is ready for another storm. Nine months after Maria, 20,000 homes are still without power- and going into the season, many mayors are worried that even a small storm will plunge them back into darkness and repeat the crisis all over again. We witness desperate Puerto Ricans illegally and dangerously turning on their own power, and press officials for answers on what will change this time around.

Now playing

01:05

Questions surround Hurricane Maria death toll

CNN

Guest: Mayor Carmen Cruz from San Juan, PR (Facetime) Anderson in Studio 73 / Control 71 (channel 67) Please record CTL 7100 Switched Please record CTL 7103 Clean Switched Please record CTL 7138 AC ISO Please record CTL 7139 Splits Please record CTL 7140 Big Smalls Please record GFX 905 Cruz ISO

Now playing

01:59

San Juan mayor: Trump showed terrible neglect

CNN

Now playing

01:58

CNN anchor presses PR governor on death count

Mario Tama/Getty Images

SAN ISIDRO, PUERTO RICO - OCTOBER 05: Kids bike in an area without grid power or running water about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island on October 5, 2017 in San Isidro, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico experienced widespread damage including most of the electrical, gas and water grid as well as agriculture after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, swept through. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Now playing

03:36

Puerto Ricans repair power lines themselves

CNN

ricardo rossello

Now playing

02:13

Rossello: Hell to pay if data not available

Mario Tama/Getty Images/File

Now playing

02:20

Study: Puerto Rico hurricane death toll near 5,000

RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images/FILE

A Puerto Rico Electric and Power Authority brigade work in a remote off-road location to repair a downed power transmission line in Ponce, Puerto Rico on November 29, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO / TO GO WITH AFP STORY By Leila MACOR, US-PuertoRico-power-weather-reconstruction-hurricane (Photo credit should read RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images)

Now playing

01:20

Puerto Rico suffers island-wide power outage

Leyla Santiago/CNN

Blue tarps are still the only roofs for some homes in Corozal.

Now playing

02:46

Puerto Rico 6 months after Hurricane Maria

CNN

Now playing

03:47

Deaths in PR still attributed to Maria

CNN

Now playing

03:45

Hurricane Maria evacuees living in FL motels

Story highlights

Puerto Rico governor: "After two hurricanes, this infrastructure has honestly collapsed"

FEMA says it has given $17 million in aid a week after Hurricane Maria struck

San Juan, Puerto Rico CNN —

Puerto Ricans are struggling with day-to-day survival despite government and military efforts to help get the US commonwealth back on its feet more than a week after Hurricane Maria’s landfall.

Nearly half of gas stations on the island are still closed. Thousands of shipping containers with vital aid are sitting idle at the Port of San Juan. And many banks remain shuttered or low on money, while businesses accept only cash.

“A response to an incident like this is complex, it’s difficult and it’s not nearly as fast as any of us want,” John Rabin, acting regional administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told reporters Thursday at press conference in San Juan. “Hurricane Maria was catastrophic to Puerto Rico.”

Rabin said that FEMA has given $17 million in aid to the island.

Puerto Rico faces a significant distribution challenge, with about 9,500 containers carrying food, water, medicine and other supplies stuck at San Juan’s port, according to Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló.

An official with the shipping company Crowley Maritme said later Thursday that at least 10,000 containers were sitting at the port.

Crowley said Wednesday it alone had 3,000 of those idle containers and had only been able to dispatch 4% of its load.

Roadblocks in delivering aid

A myriad of problems makes it difficult to transport desperately needed aid throughout the island. Among them: Only a fifth of truck drivers have reported back to work at the port, a representative for the governor said Wednesday. It’s impossible to contact many drivers since cell phone service and electricity are still down, and it also remains difficult to get gas for vehicles.

Debris continues to block roads on the island, whose infrastructure needed major repairs even before Maria hit.

An apartment building is missing a wall in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Monday, September 25, nearly a week after Hurricane Maria devastated the US commonwealth. Power is still out in most places, and communications remain almost nonexistent on the island of 3.4 million people.

Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean

PHOTO: Carolyn Cole/LA Times via Getty Images

An apartment building is missing a wall in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Monday, September 25, nearly a week after Hurricane Maria devastated the US commonwealth. Power is still out in most places, and communications remain almost nonexistent on the island of 3.4 million people.

Yancy Leon rests at the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport near San Juan on September 25. She's been waiting in line for two days to get a flight out.

Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean

PHOTO: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Yancy Leon rests at the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport near San Juan on September 25. She's been waiting in line for two days to get a flight out.

An aerial view shows the flooding in San Juan on September 25.

Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean

PHOTO: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

An aerial view shows the flooding in San Juan on September 25.

People collect water from a natural spring created by landslides in Corozal, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, September 24. Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said the island faces a humanitarian crisis.

Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean

PHOTO: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images

People collect water from a natural spring created by landslides in Corozal, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, September 24. Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said the island faces a humanitarian crisis.