Swell associated with Hurricane Lee causes damage to coastal communities in Loiza

The storm surges caused by the passage of Hurricane Lee, north of Puerto Rico, caused damage to 14 coastal communities in Loiza, Mayor Julia Nazario Fuentes reported today, Tuesday.

The affected sectors are, particularly, those that extend from Parcelas Suarez to Las Carreras and Tocones, indicated the first municipal executive.

As he explained, the waves exacerbate the problem of coastal erosion and cause greater damage to structures in the area.

He noted that municipal personnel have removed sand from the streets to allow vehicular traffic.

“In each surge, the damage on this coast worsens and the sea gets closer to the houses,” said Nazario Fuentes in a telephone interview with The new day.

Hurricane Lee did not affect the Puerto Rican archipelago directly, but its strong winds caused waves of more than 10 feet on the northern coast, according to the National Meteorological Service (SNM).

The governor Pedro Pierluisi declared a state of emergency in April over the island’s coastal erosion crisis and allocated $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to mitigate the effects.

The president also allocated another $100 million, from the Infrastructure Mitigation Program, to finance the measures that seek to address the problem.

Nazario Fuentes, however, denounced failures in the execution of that executive order and maintained that he has not had communication with the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA) about the execution of the works.

“What happened? That was in the month of April,” stressed the mayor.

The new day He requested a reaction from the DRNA, but did not receive an immediate response.

“We are not giving importance to this (coastal erosion). When my coast disappears, other towns will be in danger,” warned Nazario Fuentes.