As Puerto Rico struggles after Hurricane Maria, a group gathered in Cleveland’s Public Square Saturday to show their support for the island.
Many Puerto Ricans across Northeast Ohio still haven’t been able to contact loved ones.
It’s estimated 85% of the island still has no phone service and vast power outages.
“Right now, there are multitudes of people here in Cleveland who have not heard from their loved ones in Puerto Rico. There’s no way for us to know if our family members are still alive or not, or what their condition is,” said Omar Medina.
While numerous U.S. ships filled with supplies are in San Juan Port, it’s difficult for trucks to deliver the goods, because many roads and bridges are out, or blocked by debris.
“There’s a lot of supplies that did not get to the island, but are still in warehouses. They still have not gotten to the people that need to receive them,” Medina said.
Those gathered in Public Square also urged government leaders to speed up aid.
“And for our government to mobilize even more efficiently to make sure that the medicine, the goods, the food that our people need will get to them in a timely basis,” Medina said.
