At a meeting Tuesday on St. Croix with Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II, Puerto Rico officials pledged their government's assistance to expedite the territory's recovery from the effects of Hurricane Lenny.
Puerto Rico Secretary of State Norma Burgos, who is acting governor in the absence of Gov. Pedro Rossello, headed the delegation of cabinet members from the commonwealth who traveled to St. Croix.
Among the immediate needs they discussed, Turnbull said in a Government House release, were removal of fiberglass from ceiling tiles in schools, beach clean-up and the availability of work crews from the Puerto Rico Energy and Electrical Authority to assist the Water And Power Authority in re-energizing St. Croix.
"We look forward to working with our neighbors from Puerto Rico during this emergency," Turnbull said.
As of sunset Tuesday, the governor said, 70 percent of St. Croix had power back up. He expressed the hope that the assistance of the Puerto Rican government and additional WAPA crews dispatched from St. Thomas will enable WAPA to reduce the time needed to restore full power to the island. A WAPA timetable released Monday gave Dec. 15 as the date by which St. Croix is expected to be fully re-energized.
