GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico – FEMA and the Puerto Rico Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency, or COR3, have awarded more than $44 million in federal grants to the University of Puerto Rico to cover costs for emergency protective measures related to Hurricane María.
These awards bring the amount of funds obligated under FEMA’s Public Assistance program to nearly $6 billion.
These funds will cover costs related to mold and roof damage in over 18,000 rooms and more than 500 buildings across 11 campuses.
The latest grants are as follows:
- Nearly $1.4 million to the Aguadilla Campus
- Over $1.7 million to the Arecibo Campus
- Over $2.7 million to the Bayamón Campus
- Over $1.4 million to the Carolina Campus
- Over $3.1 million to the Cayey Campus
- Over $2.9 million to the Ciencias Médicas Campus
- Over $3.1 million to the Humacao Campus
- Over $11.3 million to the Mayagüez Campus
- Over $2.3 million to the Ponce Campus
- Over $11.9 million to the Río Piedras Campus
- Over $2.2 million to the university’s Central Administration
Emergency protective measures are actions taken to eliminate or lessen immediate threats either to lives, public health or safety, or significant additional damage to public or private property in a cost-effective manner.
“Our priority in this phase of the recovery is obligating funds and this latest obligation to the University of Puerto Rico represents an important step so that other permanent work can begin. We continue working side by side with COR3 to expedite recovery funding,” Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator Alex Amparo said.
On his behalf, Ottmar Chávez-Piñero, executive director for COR3 recognized FEMA’s collaborative work and assured that the obligation of funds for the University is a great accomplishment.
“Rebuilding the primary higher education institution on the island is of the utmost importance and we look forward to announcing obligations like this soon. We have accomplished so much in the past 100 days; nevertheless, there’s so much work left to do and so many more families to assist. The long-term recovery process requires participation from all sectors and we remanin committed to achieving this as soon as possible while upholding all federal regulations,” Chávez-Piñero said.
FEMA works with Puerto Rico’s Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency, or COR3, through the agency’s Public Assistance program to obligate recovery funds to private nonprofit organizations, municipalities and agencies of the Government of Puerto Rico for expenses related to hurricanes Irma and María.
Assistance is available for debris removal, life-saving emergency protective measures and the repair, replacement or restoration of disaster-damaged facilities.
FEMA obligates funding to applicants for projects through COR3. For applicants to receive the awarded funds, they must provide required documentation to ensure conformity with local and federal requirements.
For more information on the Hurricane María recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4339.
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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362) 711/VRS - Video Relay Service). Multilingual operators are available. (Press 2 for Spanish). TTY call 800-462-7585.
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