Army, Corps of Engineers Officials Visit Puerto Rico

Photo By Michael Meyer | More than a dozen officials from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, surveyed the Puerto Rico landscape to oversee the progress of the power restoration mission in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria. The helicopter route flew over 190 miles of power lines running across mountainous terrain. The work here often has no roads to deliver heavy equipment and material. Everything must be put together in pieces lifted by helicopter and brought to areas cleared of jungle foliage, often by machetes and chainsaws. The group that participated in the helicopter tour included Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite, the commanding general of the USACE and the 54th Chief of Engineers; Ryan A. Fisher, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works: Thomas Von Essen, Regional Administrator of FEMA Region II; and Michael Byrne, the Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA.  

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

02.06.2018

Story by Andrew Kornacki 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – Two senior U.S. Army officials began a two-day visit today to Puerto Rico to meet with senior Commonwealth elected officials and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) response leaders.

Ryan A. Fisher, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works and 54th Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite arrived in San Juan today and received an update from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) South Atlantic Division’s forward-deployed headquarters led by Col. Donovan D. Ollar.

Discussion topics included USACE’s Puerto Rico response and recovery work in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria for the following areas: restoration of the permanent electrical grid; temporary power for essential services; temporary roofing; repair of critical public facilities; and debris removal and disposal for participating municipalities.

In addition to planned meetings with senior Puerto Rico elected officials, Fisher and Semonite will visit the coordinating officer for the multi-agency federal effort, leaders of the Commonwealth’s electrical power authority and several USACE response activities. A flyover of Corps work across the island is also planned.

During a federally declared disaster, USACE is FEMA’s lead for Emergency Support Function 3, Civil Works and Engineering under the national response framework.

The USACE Task Force Power Restoration, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, FEMA and industry partners, have successfully restored power to 1,000,000 customers. Other mission accomplishments include (as of February 4):

• Completed 95 percent of federal generator installations for essential services
• Installed over 55 thousand temporary “blue” roofs
• Awarded 95 contracts for repair of critical public facilities, and completed repair of 21 of those facilities
• Collected 2.9 million cubic yards of debris from 55 participating municipalities, or the equivalent of 878 Olympic swimming pools

• Date Taken: 02.06.2018
• Date Posted: 02.06.2018 10:13
• Story ID: 264849
• Location: SAN JUAN, PR