PUERTO RICO’S RECOVERY UNDERWAY WITH HAZARD MITIGATION SUPPORT
[https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230907/puerto-ricos-recovery-underway-hazard-mitigation-support]


Release Date: 
September 7, 2023 

_The projects include a new gravity storm sewer system for Caño
Martín Peña communities_

GUAYNABO, PUERTO RICO – The Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) supports the development of project with mitigation measures
that address a resilient preparation for Puerto Rico in the face of
future atmospheric events. Hazard mitigation is any sustainable action
that reduces or eliminates future disaster risks to people and
property. 

Under the agency, the island benefits from two programs for these
funds: projects with mitigation measures under the Public Assistance
program (PA); and projects under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
(HMGP).

“Due to the impacts that climate change continues to present
worldwide, it is important that Puerto Rico’s infrastructure is
prepared to withstand the effects of future natural disasters and thus
reduce long-term risks for communities. The projects with mitigation
measures seek to break the cycle of these damages, either by
reconstruction or by repeated damages,” said Federal Disaster
Recovery Coordinator José Baquero.

The impact of flooding in communities is one of the damages that FEMA
seeks to address in the infrastructure’s reconstruction. This is the
case of the gravity storm sewer system project for the northern part
of the Israel and Bitumul communities in San Juan, under HMGP. FEMA
approved over $3.6 million for the first phase of the project, which
will provide a new sanitary sewer system for 367 homes in the northern
area of Israel and Bitumul and separate the sanitary sewers discharge
from the storm sewer system. 

Carlos Muñiz Pérez is the Urban Planning and Infrastructure Manager
for the ENLACE Project, the organization that coordinates the
channeling and dredging of the Martín Peña Channel and the
redevelopment of the eight communities that surround it, with the
active participation of its residents and community organizations.
Muñiz Pérez explained that addressing the sanitary system through
the storm sewer project will prevent continuous discharges into the
channel, which will improve the quality of the water and will also
make the dredging project viable.

“That you are able to, in a flood event, leave your house the next
day, be able to go to work, be able to go to a doctor’s appointment,
all of that has a positive economic impact for the residents. It is
basic infrastructure, which perhaps many of us have, but in the
communities along the channel there are still residents who do not
have that infrastructure”.

For the president of Bitumul and Israel’s Community Action Board,
Evelyn Quiñones Ortiz, “the mitigation project, the dredging
project, will give us life. That is what we want: quality of life, to
improve.” The community leader also indicated that a maintenance
plan at the community level will be vital to preserve the land after
the restoration of the channel. 

OTHER HAZARD MITIGATION PROJECTS

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are part of the tools that FEMA uses to
mitigate hazards. NBS are planning, design and engineering practices
that weave natural features or processes into their construction. 

Within the NBS are Articulated Cement Blocks (ACB), which are used for
various bridge and highway projects. These blocks control erosion and
support soil stabilization with a more cost-effective and
environment-friendly vision. ACBs can even be filled with sediment,
which helps restore vegetation.

The bridge in the Vara de Perro sector in Guayanilla will benefit from
this measure. Over $271,000 —under Hurricane María Public
Assistance — were earmarked specifically to install these blocks at
the entrance, exit and under the bridge to prevent future damage to
the structure from erosion.

Meanwhile, also under Public Assistance funds, other nature-based
solutions will be worked on the bridge on the PR-378 in the Maravilla
Norte neighborhood in the municipality of Las Marías. Over $390,000
will allow the installation of what are known as green gabions,
revetments that filter water, allow its regular flow and reduce
erosion. The green gabions can also be filled with vegetation to adapt
to the natural environment.

To date, FEMA has allocated nearly $1.8 billion in mitigation measures
for Hurricane María projects under the Public Assistance program; and
over $250 million in other projects of the HMGP program, which seek
mitigation solutions for Puerto Rico’s infrastructure. 

For more information about Puerto Rico’s
recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4339
[https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4339], fema.gov/disaster/4473
[https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4473] and recovery.pr
[https://recovery.pr.gov/en]. Follow us on our social media
at Facebook.com/FEMAPuertoRico
[http://www.facebook.com/femapuertorico], Facebook.com/COR3pr
[http://www.facebook.com/cor3pr] and Twitter @COR3pr
[https://twitter.com/cor3pr].

 [Aerial view of cluster of houses and trees] 
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (MAY 23, 2023) – The impact of flooding in
communities is one of the damages that FEMA seeks to address in the
infrastructure’s reconstruction. This is the case of the gravity
storm sewer system project for the northern part of the Israel and
Bitumul communities in San Juan, under HMGP. Photo FEMA/ Eduardo
Martínez 

 [Aerial view of the Martin Peña Channel. Cluster of houses can be
seen at the back.] 
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (MAY 23, 2023) – Carlos Muñiz Pérez is the
Urban Planning and Infrastructure Manager for the ENLACE Project, the
organization that coordinates the channeling and dredging of the
Martín Peña Channel and the redevelopment of the eight communities
that surround it, with the active participation of its residents and
community organizations. Muñiz Pérez explained that addressing the
sanitary system through the storm sewer project will prevent
continuous discharges into the channel, which will improve the quality
of the water and will also make the dredging project viable. Photo
FEMA/ Eduardo Martínez