About two weeks ago, Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico, rendering the island completely destroyed. Forty-five confirmed deaths occurred as a direct result of the hurricane’s physical presence, with 900 reported deaths in the storm’s aftermath. Countless others were left injured or homeless, and Puerto Rico’s pleas for help are going unanswered.

“There’s no help yet since there’s no signal, we’re without communication,” One Puerto Rican said to the New York Post. “The neighbors… have put up signs [saying] that they’re the forgotten because over here nobody has appeared.”

Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm, is the strongest to hit Puerto Rico in eighty years. Winds reached  155 miles per hour. Maria formed as a tropical storm on September 16, and picked up speed before barreling through the Caribbean island of Dominica. The storm declined to Category 2, but not before ripping through Puerto Rico and causing devastating damage to the island.

Three weeks after storm, 84% of Puerto Rico is still completely without electricity, and more than half the island lacks sanitary water. There is severe shortage on food, fuel and treatment for the injured. Additionally, thousands of homes, hospitals, and farmland has been destroyed, leaving residents homeless and without any resources to survive. Another problem is that 85% of communication and telephone lines have been cut, causing people to be stuck in their houses for days, unable to get out with no one to help.

However, despite the 3.4 million affected American citizens in Puerto Rico, President Trump has been reluctant to send help. Though 10,000 troops have been sent on the ground, this isn’t nearly enough, and on October 12th, Donald Trump implied he might revoke even this paltry assistance.  “We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!” Trump tweeted.

With the risk of very little support from the federal government, Puerto Rico is in need of aid, and it’s quite possible they won’t receive it. To many, it seems our Commander in Chief has forgotten that Puerto Rico is a part of our country–he referred to the governor of the Virgin Islands as its ‘president’, a title that is, in fact, his.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, actor of Hamilton, has released the song Almost Like Praying,all the proceeds of which will go towards recovery in Puerto Rico.  Additionally, the Puerto Rican government has launched a website to gather donations, and several other charities are donating to hurricane relief. If you would like to donate to Puerto Rico, visit http://unidosporpuertorico.com/en/ or look into other charities for more information.