San Juan, Puerto Rico –The need for the services provided by critical facilities, such as police stations and government centers that serve the community, is vital during a disaster and to preserve the lives and safety of people. That’s why the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allocated nearly $2 million for the first phase of a project of approximately $25 million in total. The hazard mitigation proposal consists of purchasing and installing generators at 35 police stations and 39 government facilities of the Puerto Rico Public Buildings Authority.
“With the first phase of this project, which includes the contracting process, identifying the engineering firm that will perform the evaluation, design and other procedures, we take an important step towards communities having more reliable facilities. By having an alternate source of energy, we help address the lack of electricity that greatly affected these places during Hurricane Maria,” said FEMA's Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator, José G. Baquero.
This allocation is provided through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and will allow facilities such as police stations, courthouses, government centers and emergency response offices that transform schools into shelters during emergencies, to provide their services during power outages.
Several police stations in towns such as Aibonito, Humacao, Lajas, Las Marías, Lares, Quebradillas and Santa Isabel are included in this group of facilities, as are government centers in Añasco, Ceiba, Hatillo, Jayuya, Loíza, Moca, Sabana Grande, Utuado and Yabucoa, among others.
The Secretary of the Department of Public Safety, Alexis Torres, said that they will keep collaborating with FEMA to continue moving these hazard mitigation projects forward. “This time, we will impact 35 police stations with the installation of electric generators, which will allow us to provide service to residents during electric services interruptions. Our commitment, together with the Public Buildings Authority, is to impact as many police stations as possible throughout the island.”
Generators for municipal facilities
Likewise, a municipal project under HMGP to install generators was completed in Cabo Rojo. Here, the purchase of a generator will provide backup power to the facility that houses the Municipal Police headquarters and the Office of Emergency Management. This project received an obligation of over $86,000 and was fully funded by the HMGP program.
According to Cabo Rojo Emergency Management Director, Eliot Santiago Ortiz, this generator benefits three facilities: the municipal police headquarters, the Emergency Management Office and Emergency Medical Services. “The impact of having the generator is that every time there is a power outage, we can count on having our communications system up, the 9-1-1 system and the system that links emergency agencies with 9-1-1. Our phones need Internet to work. In addition, the Emergency Operations Center operates from the Emergency Management building and computers are linked to the system where people report their damage and fill the forms we send to Emergency Management (at state level) to request or report any need from the community,” he explained.
Other proposals under HMGP for security installations include wind retrofitting, flood protection and the creation of safe rooms.
Manuel A. Laboy Rivera, Executive Director of the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (COR3), said “with this million-dollar obligation, the Public Buildings Authority has at its disposal the Working Capital Advance request that would advance 20 percent of the $2 million to begin the execution of the scope of work approved in this first phase. Through the energy resilience provided by the installation of these generators in police stations and government centers, the continuity of services to citizens is guaranteed to safeguard their lives in times of emergency.”
To date, nearly $2.8 billion has been approved through HMGP for a total of 67 projects to address the damage caused by Hurricane Maria, focused on preparing the island to face future disasters.
For more information about Puerto Rico’s recovery from Hurricane María, visit fema.gov/disaster/4339 y recovery.pr. Follow us on social media at Facebook.com/FEMAPuertoRico, Facebook.com/COR3pr and Twitter @COR3pr.