Nine years after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is still waiting for help

Less than a quarter of the $14 billion allocated to rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid after Hurricane Maria has reached the island nearly a decade later, according to a federal audit released Wednesday.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that of the $11 billion FEMA has obligated for grid recovery, only $2.7 billion had been disbursed as of February. The money has largely gone toward equipment, materials and engineering work.

"The people of Puerto Rico have waited nine years for their government to keep its word," Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, said. "They watched billions get appropriated and almost none of it arrive."

Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, triggering the longest blackout in U.S. history. Some communities went nearly a year without power, and the storm is estimated to have caused 2,975 deaths.

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