Puerto Rico: What is happening on the island? How bad is the damage, and why are people angry at Trump?

All you need to know

Puerto Ricans are US citizens, pay US taxes, but are not able to vote in federal elections (AFP/Getty)

For months to come, Puerto Ricans are likely to be forced to endure the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

The island territory has been left in near-total darkness after the Category 4 hurricane made landfall, knocking down electricity infrastructure that could take months or longer to totally repair. They are facing shortages in basic resources like diesel fuel that are necessary to keep vulnerable populations alive in the absence of more traditional power supplies. Those shortages have already left some dead. Roads have been completely washed away in some places.

But, as the island of more than three million people hurries to put things in working order alongside American National Guard troops, some are concerned that the island won’t be treated in the same way as the US government treated Texas and Florida after their natural disasters earlier this year. And, some are plain confused about what Puerto Rico’s relationship is with the US — and what responsibility Washington actually has to help out.

Here’s what you need to know.

Puerto Rico is a United States territory, but not a state

As such, Puerto Ricans are US Citizens, but they an’t vote in federal elections. The territory has a representative in Congress — called the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico — but that individual does not have voting rights on the floor of the House of Representatives. The representative, currently Jennifer Gonzalez, is able to sit on committees to influence legislation, however.

Even though they can’t vote in federal elections, Puerto Ricans still have the same protections as other US citizens

That means that they’re governed by US federal laws, but also that they could vote in federal elections if they moved to the mainland — which they could do without legal issue.

Puerto Ricans don’t have to pay all US federal taxes, but they do pay some

Most Puerto Ricans are not required to pay federal income tax, unless they have income from a state in the US, or if they are federal employees. But, they are still required to pay import and export taxes, federal commodity taxes, social security taxes, Medicare taxes.

As such, the state qualifies for less reimbursements than a regular state does. That includes receiving a smaller fraction of Medicaid funding than it would if it were an official part of the US. The territory is also excluded from the Supplemental Security Income program.

American law covering disaster assistance does not exclude the territory from federal funding

The Stafford Act of 1988 — an amended version of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 — was passed in order to ensure orderly federal responses to natural disasters, and to regulate how that aide can be doled out. Although the bill was intended to encourage states and territories to develop comprehensive disaster preparedness plans, it also laid out how the president can issue emergency disaster declarations. Those declarations trigger financial and physical assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which coordinates response efforts.

Donald Trump has already signed an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico

He did so preemptively last week, eyeing the potential for devastation on the island.

That declaration mentioned specifically authorising FEMA to “provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 per cent federal funding.”

Puerto Rico has already voted to reallocate as much as $1 billion of its $9.6 billion budget to pay for emergency efforts

The Oversight Board of Puerto Rico — an oversight committee put into place to monitor the territory’s finances as it works to restructure some $70 billion in debt that has left the island bankrupt — was responsible for that decision, letting the state’s governor know of their decision. The commonwealth reportedly had $15 million in emergency funds before Hurricane Irma, which also battered the island.

Mr Trump referenced that debt when responding to disaster relief

It’s not certain yet how much Hurricane Maria will cost to rebuild, but initial estimates are pretty huge

The storm caused an estimated $40 billion to $85 billion in insured losses in the Caribbean (about 85 per cent of that in Puerto Rico), according to AIR Worldwide, a catastrophe modeling firm.

The cost to rebuild after Hurricanes Irma and Harvey in Florida and Texas will be enormous. Moody’s Analytics says that the combined destruction from the hurricanes could land between $150 billion and $200 billion. Congress approved $15 billion in disaster-related aid funding earlier this month, as a part of a stop-gap funding package to avoid a shutdown and raise the debt limit. That was before Irma hit Florida, where the President later issued an emergency declaration opening up the state to federal funds.

It’s not clear how much federal aid will ultimately be sent to Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands, which is in a similar position after Maria

A whopping $7.4 billion of that $15 billion allocated for disaster relief went to FEMA’s already depleted accounts, which were rapidly depleting with the response to Harvey. It remains to be seen if Congress will approve more disaster relief after the Irma and Puerto Rico, and how that money would be allocated if Washington does decide to help.