Hurricane Maria: Puerto Rico Death Toll Rises To 16

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — The death toll on Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria rose to 16 on Monday, government officials said, bringing the overall total across the Caribbean to 49.

The Category 5 storm ripped through the U.S. territory Sept. 18 and the deaths were spread out across Puerto Rico, authorities said.

The death toll on the island was reported by Gov. Ricardo Rossello on Monday amid local media reports of even more deaths. Rossello told reporters that his government is talking with mayors all over and is working to bring water and food to isolated communities cut off by the storm. (For more information on Hurricane Maria and other Across America stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Rossello also thanked President Donald Trump for the federal assistance being provided after Maria, saying the Federal Emergency Management Agency has done a "phenomenal job." The assistance includes water and diesel fuel for generators.

FEMA officials said about 10,000 U.S. federal workers remain in the U.S. territory helping with recovery.

Daniel Carbon, chief of police in Dominica, told reporters Monday the confirmed death toll on that island rose to 27. Another 27 are missing.

Watch: Puerto Rico Is Getting Help, But It May Not Be Enough

Maria is inching north over the Atlantic — well offshore of America's East Coast — and remains a large Category 1 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Its core was located about 300 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and had sustained winds at 80 mph. The storm kicked up rough surf and large ocean swells along parts of the region.

A Pentagon spokesman, Col. Rob Manning, said the Defense Department is working to deliver humanitarian aid to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The USS Kearsarge conducted medical evacuations and airlifted relief supplies to the islands. On Sunday, the Kearsarge inserted Marine and Navy teams into Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, to clear main roads and the airfield to enable additional air support to the overall relief effort.

The military also is helping to restore power on Puerto Rico by providing generators and the fuel to run them.

Eight Army UH-60 helicopters from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, are also being flown to San Juan international airport to increase the capacity for distributing relief supplies on the island.

The Department of Homeland Security said it's not planning to waive federal restrictions on foreign ships' transportation of cargo to Puerto Rico and other areas affected by Maria, as it did following hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

A Homeland Security spokesman says that, based on consultation with the Energy Department and other federal agencies, officials believe there is sufficient capacity of U.S.-flagged vessels to move goods to Puerto Rico. Spokesman David Lapan said most of the humanitarian shipments to Puerto Rico will be through barges, which make up a significant portion of the US-flagged cargo fleet.

Lapan said officials waived the Jones Act after hurricanes Harvey and Irma in order to move oil to the East Coast. The waiver also helped make up for the loss of high-capacity pipelines.

Here's how you can help Puerto Ricans devastated by Maria.

By The Associated Press

Photo credit: Gerald Herbert/Associated Press