OUTRAGE

Hurricane Maria: ‘Millions of Water Bottles’ Left on Runway for Over a Year

Nearly 3,000 people in Puerto Rico are believed to have died in hurricane.

Millions of water bottles—reportedly meant to provide relief to victims in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico—appear to be sitting undistributed on an airport runway there for over a year. The Federal Emergency Management Agency told CBS journalist David Begnaud that it provided the water to the territory’s government in 2017, but it’s unclear what kept the water from being handed out. “The water was kept in an area that was pretty hard-hit during the storm, and could have used all the water they could have gotten,” Begnaud said. A photographer working for a Puerto Rican police agency, Abdiel Santana, said he was outraged when he saw the stockpile. Nearly 3,000 people are believed to have died after Hurricane Maria, and many deaths are said to have resulted from a lack of access to health care and clean water.