波多黎各救援：特朗普在一系列地震后宣布重大灾难

波多黎各救援：特朗普在一系列地震后宣布重大灾难

Weeks after a powerful earthquake and dozens of aftershocks rocked Puerto Rico, citizens whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the quakes will be granted access to some financial relief, officials announced on Thursday.

波多黎各发生强烈地震和数十次余震几周后，官员周四宣布，房屋被地震破坏或摧毁的居民将获得部分经济援助。

President Trump "declared that a major disaster exists" in the southern regions of Puerto Rico and "ordered Federal assistance to supplement Commonwealth and local recovery efforts," the White House said in a statement.

白宫在一份声明中表示，特朗普总统“宣布波多黎各南部地区存在重大灾难”，并“下令提供联邦援助，以补充联邦和地方的重建工作”。

The announcement of the disaster declaration comes on the same day the Department of Housing and Urban Development formally announced a grant agreement with Puerto Rico, releasing another $8.2 billion in aid.

就在宣布灾难的同一天，住房和城市发展部正式宣布与波多黎各达成一项赠款协议，再发放82亿美元的援助。

Those funds were made available to help with recovery from the 2017 hurricanes Maria and Irma, a gesture that is seen as extremely overdue by many on the ravaged island, as well as Democratic lawmakers in Congress.

这些资金是用来帮助从2017年的飓风玛丽亚和伊尔玛中恢复过来的，这个饱受摧毁的岛屿上的许多人以及国会中的民主党议员认为，这一举措是非常姗姗来迟的。

Details about the forthcoming assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency remain vague but a spokesman told NPR the funds will be released "on an ongoing basis."

美国联邦紧急事务管理署即将提供的援助细节仍不明确，但一名发言人对美国国家公共电台(NPR)表示，援助资金将“持续”发放。

"Thank you President [Trump] for signing the declaration of disaster for the southern towns of Puerto Rico after the January earthquakes," Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Jenniffer González tweeted. "Your action will help the island in the recovery process."

波多黎各专员珍妮佛·冈萨雷斯在推特上写道:“感谢特朗普总统在1月份的地震后签署了波多黎各南部城镇灾难宣言。”“你的行动将有助于该岛的恢复进程。”

It is unclear exactly how much money will be made available. However, the White House said individuals can begin applying for grants for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses. Only those who live in the municipalities of Guánica, Guayanilla, Penuelas, Ponce, Utuado and Yauco will be eligible.

目前还不清楚具体会提供多少资金。然而，白宫表示，个人可以开始申请临时住房、房屋维修和低成本贷款，以弥补未投保的财产损失。只有那些居住在瓜亚尼卡市、瓜亚尼拉市、佩努埃拉斯市、庞塞市、乌图阿多市和约科市的人才有资格申请。

Thousands who live in those communities are still sleeping outside, afraid to return to their homes. Earthquakes have continued to rattle the island since the first 5.4 temblor struck the island on Dec. 28. Since then at least one person has died and many others have been seriously injured or left homeless by collapsed buildings.

居住在这些社区的数千人仍然睡在外面，不敢回家。自12月28日第一次5.4级地震袭击该岛以来，地震仍在继续。从那时起，至少有一人死亡，许多人严重受伤或因建筑倒塌而无家可归。

In a statement from HUD, Secretary Ben Carson said the months-long hold on the hurricane recovery aid was lifted as a result of additional oversight financial measures have been taken.

"Now that proper financial controls are in place, implementing the second phase of Puerto Rico's disaster recovery program can move forward with an extension to its line of credit," Carson said.

在住房和城市发展部的一份声明中，部长本·卡森表示，由于采取了额外的监督财政措施，对飓风恢复援助长达数月的搁置已经解除。“既然适当的财务控制已经到位，就可以推进实施波多黎各灾难恢复计划的第二阶段，扩大其信贷额度，”卡森说。

The funding was supposed to be released in September, but Carson refused to do so out of concern that the money would be mismanaged by officials in Puerto Rico. As a result, only $1.5 billion out of approximately $20 billion that was appropriated by Congress been disbursed.

这笔资金本应在9月发放，但卡森拒绝发放，因为他担心这笔资金会被波多黎各官员管理不当。结果，国会拨出的大约200亿美元中，只有15亿美元到位。

On Thursday, Carson added that more oversight was needed before HUD "could proceed with confidence" the disaster funds could be distributed and spent properly.

星期四，卡森补充说，在住房和城市建设部“有信心地进行”救灾资金的分配和合理使用之前，需要进行更多的监督。

Carson's delay was met with outrage by Puerto Rican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress who argued the island territory was being treated unfairly, while states including Florida and Texas were given swift access to emergency funding following 2017 disasters.

卡森的推迟引起了波多黎各人和国会民主党议员的愤怒，他们认为波多黎各受到了不公平的对待，而包括佛罗里达州和得克萨斯州在内的一些州在2017年发生灾难后很快获得了紧急资金。