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President Donald Trump criticized NFL players who protest during the national anthem in a speech he delivered on Friday in Alabama, suggesting that team owners should fire players who do so.

Every team that played on Sunday participated in some form of demonstration — from players, coaches and executives who stood together arm-in-arm along the sidelines to others who sat, knelt or raised a fist to whole teams that stayed in the locker room or tunnel for the duration of the anthem.

Here’s a sampling of quotes from those who did (and did not) participate in these demonstrations.

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Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers coach: « I really think that more than anything it minimized it as a distraction for us and once we came to that determination it was business as usual. The big thing is that we remain united. This game of football is a unique one and we’re all blessed to be a part of it. … We will not be divided by this, we’ve got a group of men in there that come from different socio-economic backgrounds, races, creeds, ethnicities, religions and so forth. That’s football. That’s a lot of team sports. But because of our position we get drug into bullshit to be quite honest with you. Some have opinions, some don’t. We wanted to protect those who don’t and we wanted to protect those who do. We came here to play a football game today, and that was our intention. » Tomlin and Steelers coaches stood on the sideline for the national anthem while all but one player stood in the tunnel.

Von Miller, Denver Broncos linebacker: « Me and my teammates, we felt like, we felt like President Trump’s speech was an assault on our most cherished right — freedom of speech. So, collectively we felt like we had to do something before this game. … I have a huge respect for the military and for the protective services — I’ve been to Afghanistan, met real-life super heroes, it wasn’t any disrespect to them, it was for my brothers that have been attacked for things that they do during the game and I felt like I had to join them on this one. » Miller was one of 32 Broncos players who knelt during the anthem.

Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks cornerback: « As a team, we wanted to do our best to not ostracize our guys, any of our individuals, allow them to feel welcomed and not really make them uncomfortable. That’s the worst thing you could do as a teammate is put your teammate in an uncomfortable position. We don’t go out, the whole team doesn’t come out, then it’s easier for them to defend themselves, say, ‘Hey, it’s a team decision. I just did what the team did.’ You’re a good teammate, perfect, fine. But if you get out there and you ask a guy to kneel or sit, going against his values, going against his family, you put him in weird spots. So we never wanted to do that. We think we did a good job getting our message out and trying not to distract from it. » Sherman and the Seahawks stayed in the locker room for the anthem.

Drew Brees, Saints quarterback: « Do I think that there’s inequality in this country? Yes I do. Do I think that there’s racism? Yes I do. I think that there’s inequality for women, for women in the workplace. I think that there’s inequality for people of color, for minorities, for immigrants. But as it pertains to the national anthem, I will always feel that if you are an American that the national anthem is the opportunity for us all to stand up together, to be unified and to show respect for our country. » Brees stood for the anthem.

Chris Long, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end: « It kind of gets conflated because there’s things that guys are protesting about but when the president calls us out, we’re all of the sudden kind of protesting the right to protest, which you wouldn’t think you’d have to do in this country. This is a wonderful, wonderful country with things that we can improve, and that’s all those guys were trying to do was improve some things. Maybe he should lead another country because this isn’t the country where peaceful protest is unacceptable. That’s what this country is built on. » Long stood with teammate Malcolm Jenkins, who raised his fist during the anthem.

‘Hopefully it’s not a one-week thing’: Malcom Jenkins on what happens now

What’s the point of these protests during the national anthem? For the Eagles safety, they’re just a start. He wants to effect change off the field.

NFL players who protested during the national anthem in Week 3

After President Donald Trump criticized NFL players who lodge pregame protests, several players protested during the national anthem in Week 3.

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver: « I [put my hand over my heart] for the troops and military. People are going to try to misconstrue and depict a different picture than what it really is. I love the military, like I said last year when I took the knee. It is nothing against the military at all. The anthem is different for other people. People say it’s unpatriotic to kneel, but it’s unpatriotic of the president for not respecting our rights. » Evans knelt alongside fellow receiver DeSean Jackson.

DeShone Kizer, Cleveland Browns quarterback: « It’s a tragedy in our country that we have to sit here and still have these discussions. I know for a fact that I’m no ‘son of a bitch’ and I plan on continuing forward and doing whatever I can from my position to promote the equality that’s needed in this country. » Kizer stood for the anthem.

Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints running back: « Yeah, [the fans] were saying, ‘Stand up, losers’ and all of that. You know that’s gonna come. I mean, I’m sure if you look at social media, they’re M-Fing us and telling us we’re the worst type of Americans. But I love my country. And I want the best for my country. And [Trump] claims he wants the best for his country — ‘Make America Great Again,’ that’s his slogan, how he got elected. And in order for us to be great again as a country, and not have all this racism and bigotry and injustice, we all need to realize that there is a problem and be there for each other to correct the problem. » Ingram was one of at least 10 Saints players who sat during the anthem.

Tom Brady, New England Patriots quarterback: « I just think there is a great love for my teammates. … I believe in all of us coming together. … We all go through ups-and-downs and struggles, it’s life and we’re all trying to navigate it as best we can. I believe love is the greatest thing we have to overcome a lot of things. » Brady locked arms with his teammate Phillip Dorsett.

Phillip Dorsett, Patriots wide receiver: « Just wanted to show everyone we’re unified between one another. We’re together. We’re strong. This game is a great game because of the brotherhood and the relationships; it’s amazing what this game to bring to everybody. People have a platform to be able to change. We just wanted to show that we are one, not just with our team, but the whole NFL, with everybody. » Dorsett locked arms with Brady.

A.J. Bouye, Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback: « I was pissed off last night just for the simple fact I don’t know the president as a man, just like he doesn’t know us as men, and it holds close to home with me because for the simple fact what you say about us, you’re disrespecting our moms. I lost my mom to cancer. My stepmom came in, I know she’s not what he’s calling her. She got her doctorate from Ohio State. When you’re 5 years old and you’re seeing your dad have a gun pointed at his head because he looks suspicious in the neighborhood at 6 a.m. because he’s dropping his son off at a babysitter, it’s not about race. It’s not about black and white, it’s about right and wrong.

« I have respect for the military. I have family in the military. I know we’re in a military town in Jacksonville. I love all the people that go out there and fight for our country. I love the family members, the brothers, the sisters, the mothers, the fathers, the sons, the daughters, those are at home not knowing what’s going to happen to their family members, but I also have respect for those people, whether they’re black, white, Mexican, whatever, who done lost their child or somebody else to a police officer. And that’s what it’s all about. » Bouye was one of at least 13 Jaguars players to kneel during the anthem.

Derek Wolfe, Broncos defensive end: « [There’s no split in the locker room] because we give each other a chance to speak and we listen to each other when we speak. Most people, whenever somebody’s talking they already have an idea in their head of what they’re saying, they’re not listening to what’s being said, they’re thinking about what they want to take from it. » Wolfe stood for the anthem after vocalizing his opinion on national anthem protests. More than 32 of his teammates participated in some form of social protest.

Kevin King, Green Bay Packers cornerback: « That was a tough decision. It was a tough decision. … I haven’t sat before, and it’s something that’s been on my mind but I didn’t want to do it for different reasons, but when I heard some comments that were made recently that put it over the top. I don’t know if it’s something that I plan on doing every game because my grandpa is a veteran and have respect for that, but in terms of what’s gone on recently I thought today was a great opportunity to show my support and what I thought was right. » King was one of three Packers players who sat during the anthem.

Rishard Matthews, Tennessee Titans wide receiver: « I’m tired of hearing stick to sports. It comes down to right and wrong in this word. If you see wrong and don’t say anything that’s wrong. As minorities, what do you want to happen before we say anything? They tried to have a silent protest and look what happened. It’s your right to stand or sit down. You have that right and you’re not allowing that to happen. » Matthews stayed in the locker room along with his team.

Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback: « We’re all our own individuals. We’re all part of this team but we come from different places. … We have great respect for whatever the choice is, whatever you choose to do. Nobody is judging. We also know our main goal is to go win the game. That’s what our focus is. The anthem adds another deal right before the game. I think some guys feel like they’ve got to make choices either way and I think this team has great respect for whatever those are. … I don’t always feel comfortable talking about this stuff. We’re athletes and we’re playing football. But certainly I’d be lying if I said [Trump’s] comments didn’t upset me. … I’m talking about the comments that were made by the president. Targeting the NFL, targeting the quality of the character of guys in this league for that very protest, I find that very alarming. This is the same guy that couldn’t condemn violent neo-nazis and he’s condemning guys that are taking a knee during the anthem. I find there’s bigger issues out there that he should be worried about but for some reason the NFL is on his mind. » Smith stood for the anthem.

Kelechi Osemele, Oakland Raiders offensive lineman: « It’s just a one-week thing and it was a response to something that was said [by Trump]. We’re back focused on football and, you know, life goes on. We’re not going to give it any more attention. » Osemele sat with a majority of the Raiders who either sat or knelt.

Danny Trevathan, Chicago Bears linebacker: « This is history right here. Last night I prayed to God and asked the question, ‘How do I want to be defined?’ How do the 2017 Bears want to be defined — as men? Not as individuals, but men. They’re going to look at our record, of course we want to win the game, but how are they going to look at us in this situation, how do we stand as a team. I was proud of everyone that stood up and said their peace. You know, people have mixed emotions. A lot of people have military members in their family or know people in the military, I know I do. But at the end of the day, I look at my teammates, they had my back, and we went out there and fought. » Trevathan organized the Bears’ decision to link arms during the anthem.

Demar Dotson, Buccaneers offensive tackle: « I voted for Trump but through the last couple months, man, I kinda wish I didn’t vote for him. He’s definitely not doing a good job holding down the office of the president … He’s doing a real poor job. It’s almost like he’s going out of his way to create enemies. I don’t know what he’s doing, what his purpose is, what his plan is but he’s not a good president right now.

« That’s one of the biggest things — the non-stop tweeting. He needs to worry about some of the problems in our country. He’s a poor president right now. » Dotson stood with the majority of his teammates.

Jadeveon Clowney, Houston Texans defensive end: « The guys wanted to do something. At first we weren’t going to do anything. Previously we’ve seen all the guys doing it since last season and we [were] like, we don’t want to get involved with that. But after listening to him talk the other night, a lot of guys came up, like, man, we need to do something as a team, so we decided to do that. » Clowney and the Texans stood and linked arms.

Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions tight end: « I’m for my teammates. I’m united with my teammates. But I do not stand for disrespect so what I was not going to do was unite to make it seem like it was OK. Because it’s not. It’s not OK for what [Trump] said. » Ebron was the only Lions player to not link arms.

Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver: « We’re a brotherhood, we love each other, we don’t care what the appearance is of one another. We just want to go fight for each other and we want to show that, hey, we’re in this together. We love this country and we want it to be the country that it’s been. » Thielen linked arms with other Vikings players.

Malcolm Jenkins, Eagles safety: « I think it sends a message to players, to the fan base, to anybody watching that these demonstrations and the players that have been standing up for their communities aren’t looked at in a bad way, the way we’ve been depicted over the last year isn’t true, and that our teammates don’t feel that way, our coaches don’t feel that way and the ownerships of these teams don’t feel that way. I think it’s time that those people stand up — and not stand up and take on this fight, but at least show support and change the narrative that’s been encircling these demonstrations and the reasons. We’ve been so caught up over the last year over what’s right and what’s wrong and spent very little time actually talking about the issues. » Jenkins stood with his fist in the air.

Aaron Rodgers, Packers quarterback: « On this team, we’re going to keep choosing love over hate, unity over division, and that’s what it was to us. In talking last night and this morning, the few of us who linked arms just wanted to show a united front. I know personally on my Twitter and social media was receiving a lot of positivity but a lot of hatred as well, which is interesting. I know it’s probably one-tenth or one one-hundredth, maybe, of some of my black teammates who have been using their platform to try and make a difference. But this was about unity, and we respect our men and women in uniform, we respect our troops, we love ’em, we appreciate what they do for us. Today was about using our platform to promote love and unity and acceptance and togetherness, and I hope we did that. » Rodgers linked arms with teammates.

Donald Penn, Raiders offensive tackle: « I wish I didn’t have to do anything like that. I’ve been standing all the time, but when you get called out personally by the president of your country, you’ve got to do something. I didn’t want to do that; I don’t think my teammates wanted to do that. But it’s something we had to do. The stuff is getting out of hand. » Penn sat with a majority of the Raiders who either sat or knelt.

Thomas Morstead, Saints punter: « If you respect the brothers on your team, and if there’s something that they’re feeling strong enough about to demonstrate or do whatever, I think it’s important for guys on this team to show support in any way they can, whether it be publicly or privately. But these guys, our kids play together, our wives are friends, and they’re great people, and we just want to support ’em. » Morstead stood by the Saints players who sat on the bench, with his arm on a teammate’s shoulder.

Josh Norman, Washington Redskins cornerback: « It’s not about the flag. We want to be here. This is our country. We were born here. We were bred here. No one is spitting on the flag. We know you gave your life for it. Our gratitude to your service is deeply endeared. But if someone comes on your front porch and take a piss, as a man what are you going to do, sit there and watch him pee or step outside and be like, ‘Hey what are you doing, sir? You’re on private property you got to get off or we’ll make you get off.’ … When a president acts like that, that’s not someone who stands for dignity, pride, respect, honor. Where’s the honor. Where’s the dignity in that? Words are powerful man. They can unite you or they can divide you. What he said united us. » Norman linked arms with Washington owner Dan Snyder and teammates.

Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens linebacker: « Personally, I think the comments made about my brothers decided to protest and kneel is kind of what made us no longer be silent. We stand with our brothers. They have the right to protest. We knelt with them today. Non-violent protest is as American as it gets. We knelt with them today and let them know we are a unified front. There is no dividing us. I guess we’re all ‘sons of bitches.' » Suggs was one of 10 Ravens players to kneel during the anthem.

Jason McCourty, Browns cornerback: « You do things and people on your social media tell you that you’re a crybaby or you’re making a ton of money doing this or doing that, but the majority of my family doesn’t have that type of money. The majority of people I grew up with doesn’t have that type of money. You’re not only voicing something for yourself, but you’re voicing it for the people that you represent. » McCourty knelt for the anthem.

Brandin Cooks, Patriots wide receiver: « It was one of those things, you want to stand with your brothers. Kneel with your brother and be by their side. One statement that I would just like to make, a lot of people think we’re disrespecting the flag or the military, but my father was a marine. My uncle was a marine. Family fought in the Vietnam War. I have the utmost respect for the men and women who fight for our freedom … Quite frankly, I feel [conflicted] in a sense because I have no courage to be able to do something like that. So I understand the magnitude that they’re fighting across the world for our freedom … The message is we just want respect and unity and there’s only so many ways you can do it. » Cooks was one of 17 Patriots players who knelt.

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers quarterback: « By no means, no way shape or form, was there any disrespect intended toward our troops and those that serve this country. We all have the utmost respect for them, obviously. They give us the freedom to play this game. Last night, obviously with all the issues going on if you will, we had a players’ only meeting after the team meeting last night. We decided we were going to talk about what we were going to do because we knew some guys wanted to take a knee, guys wanted to stand. We said whatever we do, we need to make sure we are unified as one group because that’s what we are about and that is what it should be about. Staying together as one unit, one group, one brotherhood, things like that, so rather than having one guy kneel, one guy stand, the conclusion was made by everybody that the best thing to do was to stay in the locker room and show respect that way. » Roethlisberger was not on the field for the anthem, along with most of the Steelers.

Leonard Williams, New York Jets defensive end: « [Acting owner Christopher Johnson] individually spoke to every single person in this locker room. He didn’t have one big speech. He walked up to every individual, looked them in the eyes and told us he was going to support us in what we wanted to do. He also asked us if he could join us, and that meant a lot to everybody. » Williams on Johnson, who stood arm-in-arm with the Jets during the anthem.

Adrian Clayborn, Atlanta Falcons defensive end: « A lot of stuff needs to change, man. [Trump] has his support, and he has his people that’s behind him that’s continuing this crazy rhetoric that he’s spilling. I want to be optimistic, but it’s crazy times. I didn’t [kneel], but I support my brothers 100 percent. Anytime somebody has a question for me about how I feel about it, I’m going to answer it. And the way I feel about it right now is stuff ain’t right and he’s just spilling all this hatred that’s not doing anything positive for what’s going on in this world. » Clayborn stood along with the majority of his teammates.

Michael Thomas, Miami Dolphins safety: « With everything going on in this world, especially in the U.S., this is what you’re worried about, my man? You’re the leader of the free world. This is what you’re talking about? As a man, as a father, as an African-American man, yeah, I took it personal. But at the same time it is bigger than me. » Thomas stood for the anthem.

Jamison Crowder, Redskins wide receiver: « It’s a lot going on and we just want to bring unity and equality to this country. There’s a lot going on outside of sports. Sports bring everyone together; you’re in a stadium cheering and having a good time. But when you leave from the stadium there’s a lot going on. I’ve dealt with my own experiences of inequality. At the end of the day we’re trying to bring unity and equality to the country. It’s a great nation, great country. But there are some things we think are problems. » Crowder was one of seven Washington players who knelt.

HONG KONG — President Trump’s extension of the travel ban to North Korea is mostly symbolic and will have little to no effect on Kim Jong Un’s regime, experts said Monday.

Trump on Sunday issued an executive order indefinitely banning travel to the United States from eight countries. The list includes all but one of the countries covered by the original ban plus three more: Chad, Venezuela and North Korea.  

While the entire order is sure to be controversial, the timing of the North Korea add is particularly sensitive because it comes amid a protracted standoff over North Korea’s weapons program.

Successive rounds of U.N. sanctions have done little to curb missile and nuclear tests, with the Kim regime pushing ahead and threatening, repeatedly, to target the United States. 

In recent days, the situation has devolved into name-calling with the U.S. president tweeting vague threats to “Rocket Man” Kim and the North Korean dictator firing back at “dotard” Trump.

In the context of this escalating conflict, the North Korea travel ban may appear to be part of the U.S. push to isolate the regime. But experts said the provisions are unlikely to do so — or, in fact, accomplish anything concrete at all.

Trump pitched the new order as a measure designed to keep Americans safe. “Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet,” he tweeted.

The problem with punishing Pyongyang by stopping North Koreans from traveling to the United States is that there are very few — almost none — making the trip. 

The new executive order suspends “immigrant and nonimmigrant” travel from North Korea to the United States. But people cannot immigrate from North Korea to the United States to begin with.

“They should have checked if there is North Korean immigration before they banned it,” said John Delury, an associate professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University. “Why are you banning something that doesn’t exist?”

North Korean defectors who end up in the United States usually arrive via South Korea and are typically traveling on South Korean, not North Korean, passports. 

Although North Korean diplomats do travel to the United States, mostly to United Nations headquarters in New York, the order notes that diplomatic visits are exempt from the ban.

That only leaves the handful of officials or academics who attend conferences in the U.S. each year, a group that is already closely vetted by the State Department.

Given all this, Cheng Xiaohe, a North Korea expert at Renmin University, in Beijing, predicted the impact of the ban on North Korea would be “very limited.”  

Lu Chao, a Korea specialist at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences in Shenyang, said there would by no practical impact at all. “It’s propaganda,” he said.

Yet, if this is a message, nobody seems certain what message Trump is trying send — or to whom.

Delury said the move may be aimed at a domestic audience, not an international one. The original travel ban was widely criticized for targeting Muslims — adding North Korea and Venezuela changes the conversation.

“There’s no logic in the North Korea context, so we can conclude this is not really about North Korea,” Delury said. “This is not part of real North Korea policy at all.” 

Amber Ziye Wang and Shirley Feng reported from Beijing.

Read more:

White House expands travel ban, restricting visitors from eight countries

Trump calls North Korea’s leader ‘madman’ whose regime will face new tests

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

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http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Puerto-Rico-s-mayors-describe-widespread-12223694.php

Samantha Schmidt and Daniel Cassady, The Washington Post

Published 4:20 pm, Saturday, September 23, 2017

Puerto Rico’s governor has met mayors from around the US territorial island of Puerto Rico after surveying damage to an earthen dam that was threatening to collapse from flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

Hundreds of people who live downstream from the compromised dam, which has formed a lake on the rain-swollen Guajataca River, were under orders to evacuate, with the structure in danger of bursting at any time.

“We saw directly the damage to the Guajataca dam,” Governor Ricardo Rossello said in a Spanish-language Twitter message on Saturday while reinforcing his request that people leave the area as soon as possible.

“The fissure has become a significant rupture,” Rossello said separately at a news conference on Saturday.

The US National Weather Service said on its website the dam was still in danger of failing and triggering life-threatening flash floods.

“Stay away or be swept away,” it warned.

Media: Euronews_News

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – In the northern Puerto Rican town of Vega Baja, the floodwaters reached more than 10 feet. Stranded residents screamed « save me, save me, » using the lights in their cellphones to help rescue teams find them in the darkness, the town’s mayor said.

In Loiza, a north coastal town that already had been ravaged by Hurricane Irma, 90 percent of homes – 3,000 – were destroyed by Hurricane Maria just days later. In communities across the island, bridges collapsed and highways were severely damaged, isolating many residents. In Rio Grande, officials had yet to access a number of families stuck in their homes, three days after the powerful storm made landfall.

When speaking about his town’s destruction, Ramon Hernandez Torres, mayor of the southern city of Juana Díaz, took a long pause, his voice catching and his eyes filling with tears.

« It’s a total disaster, » he said.

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: San Juan is seen the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on September 21, 2017. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left without running water or cell phone service, and the Governor said Maria is the « most devastating storm to hit the island this century. » (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: San Juan is seen the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on September 21, 2017. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Trees block the streets after Hurricane Maria at Escambron Beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Trees block the streets after Hurricane Maria at Escambron Beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: A damaged gas station the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left without running water or cell phone service, and the Governor said Maria is the « most devastating storm to hit the island this century. » (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: A damaged gas station the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: Damaged homes in the La Perla neighborhood the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left without running water or cell phone service, and the Governor said Maria is the « most devastating storm to hit the island this century. » (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: Damaged homes in the La Perla neighborhood the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

A picture taken on September 6, 2017, shows wrecked cars in the parking facing the airport in Saint Jean on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma. At least 25 people have died as Hurricane Irma has pounded the Caribbean: 10 in the French islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, six in British overseas territories, four in the US Virgin Islands, two in Puerto Rico and two in the Dutch part of Saint Martin and one in Barbuda. Ravaged by Hurricane Irma, Saint Martin and Saint Barts escaped a further battering by Jose, which had « markedly less » of an impact on the two Caribbean islands than anticipated, France’s meteorological agency said on September 10. / AFP PHOTO / Valentine AUTRUFFE (Photo credit should read VALENTINE AUTRUFFE/AFP/Getty Images)

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A picture taken on September 6, 2017, shows wrecked cars in the parking facing the airport in Saint Jean on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma. At least 25

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Photo: VALENTINE AUTRUFFE/AFP/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: A damaged gas station the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left without running water or cell phone service, and the Governor said Maria is the « most devastating storm to hit the island this century. » (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: A damaged gas station the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: Damage is seen at Plaza de Colon in Old San Juan the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left without running water or cell phone service, and the Governor said Maria is the « most devastating storm to hit the island this century. » (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: Damage is seen at Plaza de Colon in Old San Juan the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: Residents begin to clean up the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall, on September 21, 2017 in San Juan Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left without running water or cell phone service, and the Governor said Maria is the « most devastating storm to hit the island this century. » (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: Residents begin to clean up the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall, on September 21, 2017 in San Juan Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: The La Perla neighborhood the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left without running water or cell phone service, and the Governor said Maria is the « most devastating storm to hit the island this century. » (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: The La Perla neighborhood the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: Damaged homes in the La Perla neighborhood the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left without running water or cell phone service, and the Governor said Maria is the « most devastating storm to hit the island this century. » (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: Damaged homes in the La Perla neighborhood the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: A damaged gas station the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan many are left without running water or cell phone service, and the Governor said Maria is the « most devastating storm to hit the island this century. » (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 21: A damaged gas station the day after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 21, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The majority of the island has lost power, in San Juan

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

People are seen on the roof of a house(L-down) along with a destroyed roof of a school in Rio Piedras area, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria which devastated the island and knocked out the entire electricity grid. The hurricane, which Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello called « the most devastating storm in a century, » had battered the island of 3.4 million people after roaring ashore early Wednesday with deadly winds and heavy rain. / AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL (Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

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People are seen on the roof of a house(L-down) along with a destroyed roof of a school in Rio Piedras area, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash

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Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

A tree blocks a street in Guaynabo in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria which devastated the island and knocked out the entire electricity grid. The hurricane, which Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello called « the most devastating storm in a century, » had battered the island of 3.4 million people after roaring ashore early Wednesday with deadly winds and heavy rain. / AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL (Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

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A tree blocks a street in Guaynabo in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria which

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Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

TOPSHOT – Picture of trees knocked down by strongs winds of Hurricane Maria in Punta Cana, in the eastermost tip of the Dominican Republic as the hurricane passes just north of the La Espanola island the country shares with Haiti, on September 21, 2017. After cutting a devastating path across Puerto Rico, the now Category Three storm, packing 115 mile (185 kilometre) per hour winds, is passing north of the Dominican Republic as it moves toward the Turks and Caicos Islands, according to the US National Hurricane Centre. / AFP PHOTO / Erika SANTELICES (Photo credit should read ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images)

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TOPSHOT – Picture of trees knocked down by strongs winds of Hurricane Maria in Punta Cana, in the eastermost tip of the Dominican Republic as the hurricane passes just north of the La Espanola island the

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Photo: ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images

TOPSHOT – A destroyed shack is seen in the Rio Piedras area, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria which devastated the island and knocked out the entire electricity grid. The hurricane, which Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello called « the most devastating storm in a century, » had battered the island of 3.4 million people after roaring ashore early Wednesday with deadly winds and heavy rain. / AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL (Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

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TOPSHOT – A destroyed shack is seen in the Rio Piedras area, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by

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Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

Flooded streets are seen in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017 after the passage of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria which devastated the island and knocked out the entire electricity grid. The hurricane, which Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello called « the most devastating storm in a century, » had battered the island of 3.4 million people after roaring ashore early Wednesday with deadly winds and heavy rain. / AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL (Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

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Flooded streets are seen in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017 after the passage of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by

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Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

Flooded streets are seen in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017 after the passage of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria which devastated the island and knocked out the entire electricity grid. The hurricane, which Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello called « the most devastating storm in a century, » had battered the island of 3.4 million people after roaring ashore early Wednesday with deadly winds and heavy rain. / AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL (Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

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Flooded streets are seen in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017 after the passage of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by

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Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

A tree blocks a street in Santurce, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria which devastated the island and knocked out the entire electricity grid. The hurricane, which Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello called « the most devastating storm in a century, » had battered the island of 3.4 million people after roaring ashore early Wednesday with deadly winds and heavy rain. / AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL (Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

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A tree blocks a street in Santurce, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017. Puerto Rico braced for potentially calamitous flash flooding on Thursday after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria which

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Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Hurricane Maria passed through Puerto Rico leaving behind a path of destruction across the national territory. San Juan September 20, 2017. (Photo by Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Hurricane Maria passed through Puerto Rico leaving behind a path of destruction across the national territory. San Juan September 20, 2017. (Photo by Dennis M. Rivera

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Photo: The Washington Post/The Washington Post/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Fishing boats with severe damage at Club Nautico in the San Juan Bay. Hurricane Maria passed through Puerto Rico leaving behind a path of destruction across the national territory. San Juan September 20, 2017. (Photo by Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Fishing boats with severe damage at Club Nautico in the San Juan Bay. Hurricane Maria passed through Puerto Rico leaving behind a path of destruction across the national

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Photo: The Washington Post/The Washington Post/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: A boy plays in flood waters after Hurricane Maria at Condado in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: A boy plays in flood waters after Hurricane Maria at Condado in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Trees block the streets after Hurricane Maria at Escambron Beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Trees block the streets after Hurricane Maria at Escambron Beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Two people walk in front of a damaged food truck in Ashford Avenue after Hurricane Maria at Condado in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Two people walk in front of a damaged food truck in Ashford Avenue after Hurricane Maria at Condado in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo

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Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Plaza Colon is covered in fallen trees after Hurricane Maria at Old San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: Plaza Colon is covered in fallen trees after Hurricane Maria at Old San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty

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Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: A palm tree is balanced on fallen power lines after Hurricane Maria at Condado in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: A palm tree is balanced on fallen power lines after Hurricane Maria at Condado in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty

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Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 20: A tree is uprooted in the Miramar neighborhood after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 20, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Thousands of people have sought refuge in shelters, and electricity and phone lines have been severely effected. (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 20: A tree is uprooted in the Miramar neighborhood after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 20, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Thousands of people have sought refuge in

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 20: Fallen trees surround a car in the Miramar neighborhood after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 20, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Thousands of people have sought refuge in shelters, and electricity and phone lines have been severely effected. (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 20: Fallen trees surround a car in the Miramar neighborhood after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 20, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Thousands of people have sought

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: A man loads truck with debris after Hurricane Maria at Muñoz Rivera Street in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: A man loads truck with debris after Hurricane Maria at Muñoz Rivera Street in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty

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Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: A thick tree damaged a concrete fence after Hurricane Maria at Ponce de Leon Street in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO SEPTEMBER 20: A thick tree damaged a concrete fence after Hurricane Maria at Ponce de Leon Street in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. (Photo by Pablo Pantoja/Anadolu

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Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Men repair a roof of a damaged house after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Grand Case, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into Puerto Rico’s southeast coast at daybreak before churning across the US territory which is home to 3.4 million. / AFP PHOTO / Helene Valenzuela (Photo credit should read HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images)

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Men repair a roof of a damaged house after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Grand Case, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into

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Photo: HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images

Destroyed trees and houses are seen after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Orient Bay, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into Puerto Rico’s southeast coast at daybreak before churning across the US territory which is home to 3.4 million. / AFP PHOTO / Helene Valenzuela (Photo credit should read HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images)

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Destroyed trees and houses are seen after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Orient Bay, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into Puerto

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Photo: HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images

Destroyed glass panes are seen after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Orient Bay, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into Puerto Rico’s southeast coast at daybreak before churning across the US territory which is home to 3.4 million. / AFP PHOTO / Helene Valenzuela (Photo credit should read HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images)

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Destroyed glass panes are seen after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Orient Bay, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into Puerto

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Photo: HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images

Destroyed cars lie between trees and trash after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Grand Case, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into Puerto Rico’s southeast coast at daybreak before churning across the US territory which is home to 3.4 million. / AFP PHOTO / Helene Valenzuela (Photo credit should read HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images)

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Destroyed cars lie between trees and trash after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Grand Case, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into

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Photo: HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images

Isidro clears his yard of debris left by the passage of Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 20, 2017. Maria slammed into Puerto Rico on, cutting power on most of the US territory as terrified residents hunkered down in the face of the island’s worst storm in living memory. After leaving a deadly trail of destruction on a string of smaller Caribbean islands, Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico’s southeast coast around daybreak, packing winds of around 150mph (240kph). / AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL (Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

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Isidro clears his yard of debris left by the passage of Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 20, 2017. Maria slammed into Puerto Rico on, cutting power on most of the US territory as

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Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

Downed power line poles are seen as Hurricane Maria hits Puerto Rico in Fajardo, on September 20, 2017. Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico, pummeling the US territory after already killing at least two people on its passage through the Caribbean. The US National Hurricane Center warned of « large and destructive waves » as Maria came ashore near Yabucoa on the southeast coast. / AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO (Photo credit should read RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images)

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Downed power line poles are seen as Hurricane Maria hits Puerto Rico in Fajardo, on September 20, 2017. Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico, pummeling the US territory after already killing at least two people

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Photo: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images

A damaged sail boat washed ashore is seen after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico, pummeling the US territory after already killing at least two people on its passage through the Caribbean. The US National Hurricane Center warned of « large and destructive waves » as Maria came ashore near Yabucoa on the southeast coast. / AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO (Photo credit should read RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images)

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A damaged sail boat washed ashore is seen after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico, pummeling the US territory after already

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Photo: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images

Members of the military help remove damaged boats after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Orient Bay, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into Puerto Rico’s southeast coast at daybreak before churning across the US territory which is home to 3.4 million. / AFP PHOTO / Helene Valenzuela (Photo credit should read HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images)

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Members of the military help remove damaged boats after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Orient Bay, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria

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Photo: HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images

Members of the military help clean up debris after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Orient Bay, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into Puerto Rico’s southeast coast at daybreak before churning across the US territory which is home to 3.4 million. / AFP PHOTO / Helene Valenzuela (Photo credit should read HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images)

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Members of the military help clean up debris after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Orient Bay, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed

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Photo: HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images

TOPSHOT – A woman pushes her kids as members of the military help remove damaged boats after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Orient Bay, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine people in the Caribbean, Maria slammed into Puerto Rico’s southeast coast at daybreak before churning across the US territory which is home to 3.4 million. / AFP PHOTO / Helene Valenzuela (Photo credit should read HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images)

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TOPSHOT – A woman pushes her kids as members of the military help remove damaged boats after the passage of hurricane Irma and Maria in Orient Bay, St. Martin, on September 20, 2017. After killing at least nine

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Photo: HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images

TOPSHOT – Librada is seen at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum refuge in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 19, 2017, prior the arrival of Hurricane Maria. She left voluntarily of her house to take refuge. Maria headed towards the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico after battering the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, with the US National Hurricane Center warning of a « potentially catastrophic » impact. / AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL (Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

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TOPSHOT – Librada is seen at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum refuge in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 19, 2017, prior the arrival of Hurricane Maria. She left voluntarily of her house to take refuge. Maria

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Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

TOPSHOT – Trees are toppled in a parking lot at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 20, 2017, during the passage of the Hurricane Maria. Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on Wednesday, pummeling the US territory after already killing at least two people on its passage through the Caribbean. The US National Hurricane Center warned of « large and destructive waves » as Maria came ashore near Yabucoa on the southeast coast. / AFP PHOTO / HECTOR RETAMAL (Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

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TOPSHOT – Trees are toppled in a parking lot at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 20, 2017, during the passage of the Hurricane Maria. Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on

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Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO–SEPT. 20, 2017–A view from the Sheraton Old San Juan, in Puerto Rico, where people are waiting out hurricane Maria on the second floor, some with their pets. (Photo by Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO–SEPT. 20, 2017–A view from the Sheraton Old San Juan, in Puerto Rico, where people are waiting out hurricane Maria on the second floor, some with their pets. (Photo by Carolyn Cole/Los

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Photo: Carolyn Cole/LA Times Via Getty Images

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 20: The dining room of the Ciqala hotel suffered damage as Hurricane Maria bears down on Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017 in San Juan. Thousands of people have sought refuge in shelters, and electricity and phone lines have been severely effected. (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – SEPTEMBER 20: The dining room of the Ciqala hotel suffered damage as Hurricane Maria bears down on Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017 in San Juan. Thousands of people have sought refuge

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Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

Andrea Rivera and her husband Abigail Acevedo rest at a hurricane shelter as Hurricane Maria approaches Puerto Rico in Fajardo on September 19, 2017. Maria headed towards the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico after battering the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, with the US National Hurricane Center warning of a « potentially catastrophic » impact. / AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO (Photo credit should read RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images)

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Andrea Rivera and her husband Abigail Acevedo rest at a hurricane shelter as Hurricane Maria approaches Puerto Rico in Fajardo on September 19, 2017. Maria headed towards the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico

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Photo: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images

People take refuge in an hurricane shelter on September 19, 2017, in La Savane, on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Martin, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma and as the island prepares to step up its alert level ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Maria. Hurricane Maria strengthened into a « potentially catastrophic » Category Five storm as it barrelled into eastern Caribbean islands still reeling from Irma, forcing residents to evacuate in powerful winds and lashing rain. / AFP PHOTO / Helene Valenzuela (Photo credit should read HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images)

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People take refuge in an hurricane shelter on September 19, 2017, in La Savane, on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Martin, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma and as the island prepares to step up its alert

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Photo: HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images

The wreckage of a pergola is pictured in the village of Goyave on September 19, 2017 in the French territory of Guadeloupe after the passage of Hurricane Maria. Hurricane Maria headed towards the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on September 19, with the US National Hurricane Center warning of a « potentially catastrophic » impact as it battered the eastern Caribbean. Arriving just as islanders in the region are struggling to recover from devastating Hurricane Irma which struck earlier this month, Maria claimed its first victim in the French territory of Guadeloupe, where two other people were missing. / AFP PHOTO / Cedrick Isham CALVADOS (Photo credit should read CEDRICK ISHAM CALVADOS/AFP/Getty Images)

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The wreckage of a pergola is pictured in the village of Goyave on September 19, 2017 in the French territory of Guadeloupe after the passage of Hurricane Maria. Hurricane Maria headed towards the Virgin Islands

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Photo: CEDRICK ISHAM CALVADOS/AFP/Getty Images

TOPSHOT – A picture shows a car with a rotating beacon as its drives among destruction on September 19, 2017, in Quartier d’Orleans, on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Martin, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma and as the island prepares to step up its alert level ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Maria. Hurricane Maria strengthened into a « potentially catastrophic » Category Five storm as it barrelled into eastern Caribbean islands still reeling from Irma, forcing residents to evacuate in powerful winds and lashing rain. / AFP PHOTO / Helene Valenzuela (Photo credit should read HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images)

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TOPSHOT – A picture shows a car with a rotating beacon as its drives among destruction on September 19, 2017, in Quartier d’Orleans, on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Martin, after it was hit by

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Photo: HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images

A picture taken on September 6, 2017, shows damage in Public, near Gustavia, on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma. At least 25 people have died as Hurricane Irma has pounded the Caribbean: 10 in the French islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, six in British overseas territories, four in the US Virgin Islands, two in Puerto Rico and two in the Dutch part of Saint Martin and one in Barbuda. Ravaged by Hurricane Irma, Saint Martin and Saint Barts escaped a further battering by Jose, which had « markedly less » of an impact on the two Caribbean islands than anticipated, France’s meteorological agency said on September 10. / AFP PHOTO / Valentine AUTRUFFE (Photo credit should read VALENTINE AUTRUFFE/AFP/Getty Images)

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A picture taken on September 6, 2017, shows damage in Public, near Gustavia, on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma. At least 25 people have died as Hurricane

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Photo: VALENTINE AUTRUFFE/AFP/Getty Images

TOPSHOT – A woman pulls a travel case on a rock scattered road in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 7, 2017. One of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, the rare Category 5 hurricane churned westward off the northern coast of Puerto Rico early Thursday on a potential collision course with south Florida, where at-risk areas were evacuated. / AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO (Photo credit should read RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images)

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TOPSHOT – A woman pulls a travel case on a rock scattered road in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 7, 2017. One of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, the rare

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Photo: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images

Palm trees lie in the water in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 7, 2017. One of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, the rare Category 5 hurricane churned westward off the northern coast of Puerto Rico early Thursday on a potential collision course with south Florida, where at-risk areas were evacuated. / AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO (Photo credit should read RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images)

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Palm trees lie in the water in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 7, 2017. One of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, the rare Category 5 hurricane churned westward

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Photo: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images

Passengers wait to board their plane at the departures terminal at the Pole Caraibes international airport in Pointe-a-Pitre, which re-opened on September 6, 2017, after hurricane Irma hit the island. Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, cut a deadly swath through a string of small Caribbean islands on Wednesday and was on a collision course with Puerto Rico and potentially south Florida. / AFP PHOTO / Helene Valenzuela (Photo credit should read HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images)

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Passengers wait to board their plane at the departures terminal at the Pole Caraibes international airport in Pointe-a-Pitre, which re-opened on September 6, 2017, after hurricane Irma hit the island. Hurricane

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Photo: HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images

A picture taken on September 6, 2017, shows destruction at the Eden Rock hotel in Baie de Saint Jean on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma. At least 25 people have died as Hurricane Irma has pounded the Caribbean: 10 in the French islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, six in British overseas territories, four in the US Virgin Islands, two in Puerto Rico and two in the Dutch part of Saint Martin and one in Barbuda. Ravaged by Hurricane Irma, Saint Martin and Saint Barts escaped a further battering by Jose, which had « markedly less » of an impact on the two Caribbean islands than anticipated, France’s meteorological agency said on September 10. / AFP PHOTO / Valentine AUTRUFFE (Photo credit should read VALENTINE AUTRUFFE/AFP/Getty Images)

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A picture taken on September 6, 2017, shows destruction at the Eden Rock hotel in Baie de Saint Jean on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma. At least 25 people

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Photo: VALENTINE AUTRUFFE/AFP/Getty Images

A picture taken on September 6, 2017, shows a wrecked car in Public, near Gustavia, on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma. At least 25 people have died as Hurricane Irma has pounded the Caribbean: 10 in the French islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, six in British overseas territories, four in the US Virgin Islands, two in Puerto Rico and two in the Dutch part of Saint Martin and one in Barbuda. Ravaged by Hurricane Irma, Saint Martin and Saint Barts escaped a further battering by Jose, which had « markedly less » of an impact on the two Caribbean islands than anticipated, France’s meteorological agency said on September 10. / AFP PHOTO / Valentine AUTRUFFE (Photo credit should read VALENTINE AUTRUFFE/AFP/Getty Images)

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A picture taken on September 6, 2017, shows a wrecked car in Public, near Gustavia, on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma. At least 25 people have died as

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Photo: VALENTINE AUTRUFFE/AFP/Getty Images

Hurricane Maria pounded the entire island of Puerto Rico on Wednesday, but the scope of the damage had been speculative and unclear since, in large part because towns across the U.S. territory have been completely off the grid. Though images from the air showed incredible destruction, mayors were unable to reach central government for leadership and help because communication was impossible. No telephones, cellphones, or Internet. No power. No passage through roads that had been washed away or blocked with trees and power lines.

But on Saturday, for the first time in days, mayors and representatives from more than 50 municipalities across Puerto Rico met with government officials at the emergency operations command center here in the island’s capital city. Many of the mayors learned about the meeting through media reports over satellite radio the night before. One mayor said his staff was informed after a man ran to his offices with a note telling him to make his way to San Juan.

Approximately 20 other mayors across the island still have not been able to make contact with government officials, leaving major gaps in the broader understanding of the damage Maria left behind.

The mayors greeted each other with hugs and tears, and they pleaded with their governor for some of the things their communities need most: drinking water, prescription drugs, gasoline, oxygen tanks, and satellite phones. The entire population remains without electricity. Families everywhere are unable to buy food or medical treatment. Roads remain waterlogged, and looting has begun to take place at night.

« There is horror in the streets, » San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said in a raw, emotional interview with The Washington Post. « People are actually becoming prisoners in their own homes. »

« Whenever I walk through San Juan, » Yulín said, she sees the « sheer pain in people’s eyes. . . . They’re kind of glazed, not because of what has happened but because of the difficulty of what will come, » she said. « I know we’re not going to get to everybody in time. . . . Two days ago I said I was concerned about that. Now I know we won’t get to everybody in time. »

Oscar Santiago, mayor of the northern coastal city of Vega Alta, said many of his community’s families refused to evacuate their flooded homes. One little girl was standing barefoot with her family on a roof, which was littered with nails, he said. When he asked her to put on some sandals, she told him: « The hurricane took them. »

Marcos Cruz Molina, mayor of Vega Baja, said even his own wooden home was destroyed, and he has since sought shelter with his parents. Jose Rodriguez, mayor of Hatillo, in the northwest, said « hundreds and hundreds » of homes in his town were obliterated. « It’s catastrophic, » he said.

The meeting in San Juan came a day after the governor urged residents downstream from Lake Guajataca – a population of nearly 70,000 – to evacuate amid fears that a dam holding the lake back might fail because of damage from Hurricane Maria’s floodwaters. Officials said the dam’s structural damage was caused by a « fissure, » a crack that had grown to a significant « rupture » by Saturday. The dam’s failure could lead to massive amounts of water flowing through coastal communities along a river’s path to the ocean, and authorities believed evacuation was the only option.

Local authorities said the actual number of residents remaining in those towns at risk of destruction was most likely much lower because of early overestimates, officials said. Evacuations continued on Saturday.

The official death toll on the island from Hurricane Maria has risen to 10. One died when he was struck in the head by a panel, another died in an accident with an excavating machine, three died in landslides, two in flooding in Toa Baja, and two police officers in Aguada drowned when the Culebrinas River overflowed.

One person in Arecibo died after being swept away by rising water. Officials believe there are probably others they haven’t yet been able to confirm.

At the intersection of Routes 2 and 1o in Arecibo, employees of the Gulf Express gas station and their families – about 20 people in all – were hard at work Saturday. Their boots and sneakers were caked with mud because there is mud everywhere: On their pants and shirts, in their cars and on the walls of their homes. The makeshift cleanup crew was using brooms to sweep out the grayish brown slop that lay two or three inches thick inside.

After Maria blew threw the city, taking down trees and power lines, the flash floods came.

« The water had to be at least six, maybe seven feet high, » said Nelson Rodriguez, an employee at the Gulf Express. « It took everything. All the medicine in the pharmacy, all the food, it’s gone. »

Every home and business in this part of Arecibo was affected by the flooding. Two blocks away from the gas station, Eduardo Carraquillo, 45, helped his father, Ismael Freytes, 69, clean the mud out of their yellow, first-floor apartment. Inside, a film, rising six feet high on the walls, marked where water stagnated for much of a full day.

« The water just pushed through the door, as if it had been left open, » Carraquillo said. « We all evacuated the day after the storm, because we were warned about the flash flood that might come. Everyone left, just to be safe, except for two older men that lived a few houses away. They just didn’t want to leave. When we came back, we found out the flood had killed them right there in that apartment. »

Some Puerto Rico officials believe it could be months before the island recovers and that it will be at least a year before some sense of normalcy returns.

Officials estimate it will take three weeks for hospitals to regain power, and about six months for the rest of the island to have electricity. By Saturday, 25 percent of the population had telecommunications connections.

Gov. Ricardo Rosselló announced efforts to centralize medical care and shelters for the elderly. He also plans to distribute 250 satellite phones among mayors to facilitate communication. He said he urged the mayors to develop a « buddy system » with other local officials.

Yulín, San Juan’s mayor, said she has never seen such devastation, but she also said she has never seen such determination to make it. She described a phrase she keeps hearing from residents: « Yo soy Boricua. I am from Puerto Rico. »

« That has become the very courageous way of saying we are going to overcome anything that comes our way, » she said.

A janitor stopped Yulín with a request on Friday: « Tell the world we’re here, » he said, Yulín recounted. « Tell everyone we’re fighting. Tell everyone that can listen that we are going to make it. »

With her voice faltering, Yulín echoed that cry: « If anyone can hear us . . . help. »

« Those are words that no society should have to endure alone or ever, » Yulín said. « What I would ask is not only for Puerto Rico, but for the entire Caribbean that has been hit so hard by this: Do not forget us and do not let us feel alone. »

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Cassady reported from Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

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Video: San Juan mayor: ‘There is horror in the streets’

Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz recounts the many struggles Puerto Rico’s capital city is facing as it tries to regain its footing after Hurricane Maria.

Short URL: http://wapo.st/2fHIm2H

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Video: See Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria from the air

Hurricane Maria caused widespread damage to Puerto Rico. Drone footage captured the scene in San Juan and Canóvanas on Sept. 21.

Short URL: http://wapo.st/2fFSGIt

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“I’m concerned about the impact on the Medicaid program, which has been on the books for more than 50 years and provides health care to our most vulnerable citizens, including disabled children and low-income seniors,” Ms. Collins said on Sunday.

She added that she was also concerned about “the impact on cost and coverage,” as well as “the erosion of protections for people with pre-existing conditions like asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes and what it would mean to them.”

Still, she stopped short of declaring that she would vote against the measure, saying she wanted to wait for an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that is expected to be released early this week.

The analysis is unlikely to transform her views. The budget office said last week that it was aiming to provide a preliminary fiscal assessment of the bill by early this week. But the budget office said that it would take at least several weeks to provide an analysis of the bill’s effects on health insurance coverage and premiums.

The Graham-Cassidy bill would repeal the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act as well as the tax credits that are provided to help people buy insurance on the individual market. In their place, it would provide block grants to the states to use for health care.

It would also allow states to seek federal waivers that would allow insurers to charge higher premiums to people with pre-existing medical conditions and to omit certain benefits, like maternity care and mental health care, that they are currently required to offer.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Paul reiterated his view that the bill was “not repeal.” He expressed willingness to support a narrower repeal measure, but made clear that he objected to the central premise of the Graham-Cassidy bill.

“I’m just not for block-granting Obamacare,” Mr. Paul said, “and calling it a day.”

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