LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — During a two-week period in September 2017, two category 5 hurricanes, Irma and Maria, charged through the Caribbean region of the Atlantic, causing massive property and financial damage totaling in the billions. Among the hardest hit were the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The storms reportedly damaged or destroyed 85% of the islands’ 56,000 homes and recovery efforts have left much to be desired. Although committing $1.8 billion in disaster assistance to the region, assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) has been largely inadequate.
This inadequacy has created a vast demand for basic societal necessities such as affordable housing, disaster preparedness, and waste management. And as is often the case when the government is slow to execute, the private sector is bridging the gap.