Oct 14, 2017

Disaster updates: California and Puerto Rico

Top: Two policemen watch over the remains of a mobile home park in Santa Rosa, Calif. (Photo: Eric Risberg / AP). Bottom: Efrain Diaz Figueroa sits next to the remains of his sister's house in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo: Ramon Espinosa / AP).

While Puerto Rico struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria that made landfall over three weeks ago, California has battled disastrous wildfires this week that have killed at least 38 people.

The latest:

California wildfires
Puerto Rico recovery
  • BuzzFeed reports that Puerto Ricans are "being given drinking water from Superfund sites," which could be contaminated with hazardous chemical waste.
  • 34% of Puerto Rico is without access to fresh drinking water, per BuzzFeed.
  • 5,602 people still remain in shelters on the island.
  • There are more than 20,000 military service members and civilian personnel assisting in recovery efforts, per FEMA.
  • Go deeper into Puerto Rico's numbers with Axios' Alayna Treene.
Go deeper