News

As Puerto Rico begins to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, my Senate office stands ready to serve you and our fellow Americans on the island. For direct assistance from our office, you can email us at PR@rubio.senate.gov

Para español, haga clic aquí. 

If you or any of your loved ones cannot reach family members or friends in Puerto Rico, or know they are in need of food, water, shelter, or medical supplies, please contact the following agencies:

1.      The American Red Cross Safe and Well website is a free public reunification tool that allows individuals and organizations to register and post messages to search for loved ones, or for individuals to indicate that they are safe. The site is always available, open to the public, and available in English and Spanish.  There are a number of ways to use this service:

• Registrations and searches can be done directly on the website.

• Registrations can also be completed by texting SAFE to 78876. Messages exist in both Spanish and English.

• To speak with someone at the American Red Cross concerning a missing friend or relative who has a serious, pre-existing health or mental health condition, please contact 1-800 Red Cross (1-800-733-2767).

• The American Red Cross Emergency App features an “I’m Safe” button that allows users to post a message to their social accounts, letting friends and family know they are out of harm’s way. The app can be downloaded for free in app stores by searching for “American Red Cross” or by texting ‘GETEMERGENCY’ to 90999.

2.      Anyone who finds a child who may be separated from parents or caregivers, please contact the local police and enter basic information and/or a photo into the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children‘s Unaccompanied Minors Registry. If you find an unaccompanied child, please indicate whether the child has a disability or has access and functional needs in the appropriate field in the Unaccompanied Minors Registry. If you do not have access to the internet, please call 1-866-908-9570.

3.      FEMA is raising awareness that Hurricane Maria disaster survivors, and their friends and family, should be alert for false rumors, scams, identity theft, and fraud. FEMA has a dedicated website to address some of the most common themes. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Visit FEMA’s Hurricane Rumor Control page to get the most accurate information from trusted sources.

FEMA information regarding Hurricane Maria is available in English and Spanish at:

• fema.gov/hurricane-maria
• Follow FEMA on Twitter @femaregion2
• https://www.fema.gov/es/huracan-maria
• https://twitter.com/FEMAespanol

Additional information for Puerto Rico is available at the following locations:

• http://eldiamenospensado.pr.gov/ (Puerto Rico)
• http://www2.pr.gov/Pages/Huracan.aspx (Puerto Rico)
• Puerto Rico’s Federal Affairs Administration:

By Email: maria1@prfaa.pr.gov

By Phone: (202) 800-3133

Officials in Puerto Rico have opened points of distribution (POD) for survivors to get meals, water, and other commodities. Commodity Points of Distribution are operating in the following locations, with more locations scheduled to open in coming days:

Puerto Rico

Aguadilla City Hall

Aibonito City Hall

Arecibo City Hall

Bayamón City Hall

Camuy City Hall

Canovanas City Hall

Ciales City Hall

Culebra City Hall

Mayaguez City Hall

Ponce City Hall

Rincon City Hall

Rio Grande City Hall

Santa Isabel City Hall

Utuado City Hall

Vega Alta City Hall

Vieques City Hall

For real time updates on Puerto Rico relief efforts: Please go to http://status.pr/

For people looking to donate or volunteer: To donate or volunteer, contact the voluntary or charitable organization of your choice through the National Voluntary Agencies Active in Disasters (NVOAD) at www.nvoad.org.