City Council Speaker Mark-Viverito Says Aid to Puerto Rico Is 'Not Enough'

Updated: 8:38 A.M.

It's been a week since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, leaving much of the island without power and dangerously low on fresh water, gas, and food.

The situation remains dire, and for New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, it's personal. She went to Puerto Rico last week to assess the damage—and to see her mother.

"She's fine," Mark-Viverito said of her mother, speaking with WNYC's Richard Hake. "But as with many Puerto Ricans in this situation, her life has been altered.

"I've been thankful, yes, for the support and the aid that is coming," Mark-Viverito said, "but it's not as if it was not known that this hurricane was going to hit."

Listen above for Mark-Viverito's full update from Puerto Rico, and check here for ways in which you can help, and contact, people on the island.

At the time of WNYC's conversation with Mark-Viverito, the Jones Act, which banned ships from bringing Puerto Rico aid supplies from the U.S. mainland unless they paid tariffs, had not yet been waived. 

At @ricardorossello request, @POTUS has authorized the Jones Act be waived for Puerto Rico. It will go into effect immediately.

— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) September 28, 2017