(CNN) It's been more than eight days since Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico, leveling the island home of 3.4 million Americans. The storm struck like an upper cut, after Hurricane Irma jabbed it en route to the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Florida two weeks earlier.

But unlike the robust responses that followed Irma and Hurricane Harvey before that, President Donald Trump all but sidelined himself in the aftermath.

Following a tweet to the Puerto Rican governor late last Wednesday, Trump over the next five days, as the scale of the humanitarian crisis became increasingly clear, dedicated himself almost exclusively to attacking and riling up opposition to pro football players protesting racial inequality and police brutality.

Trump might well be Teflon with his supporters, but it has become increasingly clear that his initial, relative indifference to Puerto Rico -- a stark contrast to the White House's unrelenting public focus on Texas and Florida -- is poised to cast another long shadow on a presidency that has struggled to get out of its own way.

But this not simply a question of competence or empathy. More seasoned executives have stumbled in their responses to natural disasters. Rather, it strikes at the heart of many Americans' concerns about Trump -- his fitness to serve.

On September 25, when the devastation became too much ignore, Trump unleashed an inscrutable series of tweets that veered from self congratulations to a critical appraisal of Puerto Rico's financial situation -- as if the island's debt in some way mitigated the government's responsibility to it -- and back to another assurance FEMA was doing its job.

Then, speaking alongside Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday, Trump repeatedly patted himself on the back for his administration's "massive" response, praising Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló for praising him, before mapping out -- quite literally -- the fundamental challenge.

The effort in Puerto Rico, he said, "is the most difficult job because it's on the island -- it's on an island in the middle of the ocean. It's out in the ocean. You can't just drive your trucks there from other states."

Trump's impromptu geography lesson invited mockery on social media, but it also confirmed something more worrying -- what many had feared as the days dragged on after the initial trauma: the President appeared less concerned, and knowledgeable, about the situation on the ground (hence the filibustering replies to fairly basic questions) than in gobbling up stray praise.

Even his most basic assurance was colored by a note on his own experience.

"The people are fantastic people," Trump said. "I grew up in New York, so I know many people from Puerto Rico. I know many Puerto Ricans. And these are great people, and we have to help them."

Twenty-four hours later, he hinted at what he made out to be a more compelling tie -- to industrial interests.

"We have a lot of shippers and a lot of people and a lot of people who work in the shipping industry that don't want the Jones Act lifted," he said on Wednesday, a reference to the nearly century-old protectionist law requiring goods, like storm aid, shipped between American ports to be carried on mostly US-made ships, owned and operated primarily by Americans.

The White House finally took action early Thursday morning, issuing a waiver that will at least temporarily lift the restrictions. But the situation now seems locked into cycles of increasing desperation. More than 10,000 containers filled with supplies are now effectively stuck at port, with truckers unable to fuel their vehicles and, in many cases, finding some of the hardest hit places on the island unreachable in any case.

During an interview on CNN's "Inside Politics" Thursday, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said the time has come for the administration to hand the job -- in particular, the complicated task of establishing new supply chains -- over to the Pentagon.

"The only people who can restore it, who have the capacity to do so quickly in the short term, and then turn it over to the authorities there in Puerto Rico, is the Department of Defense," said Rubio, who visited Puerto Rico on Monday.

Even as the Trump administration now seems to be coming around to the magnitude of the disaster -- if not a clear-eyed assessment of its own performance.

Of the ongoing efforts, Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke said Thursday, "I know it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane."

"The mayor of San Juan needs to understand that there is a joint federal field office in San Juan right now where unified planning and execution is taking place, with the governor, with my staff, with Department of Defense," he said. "So if there unmet needs, the mayor needs to be tied into the JFO that's in her city."

Either petulant or simply frustrated, Long underlined the apparently frayed lines of communication between the government in Washington and the people of Puerto Rico.</s>On the defensive over the pace of federal help for Puerto Rico, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans cleared the way Thursday for more supplies and government cash for the hurricane-ravaged U.S. island.

Trump waived federal restrictions on foreign ships delivering cargo. And House Speaker Paul Ryan said the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief account will get a $6.7 billion boost by the end of the week. Trump and his advisers, meanwhile, defended the administration's response to the devastation on the island, which was hit by Hurricane Maria Sept. 20 with many people left desperate for power, food and other supplies.

"The electric power grid in Puerto Rico is totally shot. Large numbers of generators are now on Island. Food and water on site," Trump tweeted early in the day.

The developments Thursday came after Trump came under sharp criticism for what critics said was a too-slow response to a humanitarian crisis among Puerto Rico's 3.4 million residents.

From the White House driveway to cable television, a squad of advisers defended the president's response and described the relief efforts as well underway, with most hospitals "operational."

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke said she signed the waiver of a federal law called the Jones Act to clear the way for foreign-flagged ships to deliver supplies between U.S. ports.

"You are seeing devastation in Puerto Rico. That is the fault of the hurricane," Duke told reporters in the White House driveway. "The relief effort is under control."

Tom Bossert, Trump's homeland security adviser, said the impression of a slow response isn't so much wrong as it is outdated. He said more than 40 of the island's 69 hospitals are accepting patients.

And FEMA Administrator Brock Long said the efforts have been hampered by damaged airports and ports on the island.

"The question is that last mile," Long told CNN, speaking of the difficulty of getting aid all the way to those in need.

Ryan, meanwhile, said a "huge capital injection will occur in two days" to help Puerto Rico recover. He noted Trump had waived a matching funds requirement, which means the cash-strapped island won't have to contribute to the initial costs of the federal assistance. The Wisconsin Republican said he expects the Trump administration to send Congress a request for a long-term recovery package once damage assessments are conducted.

"We will quickly act on that request," Ryan said.

Duke said the shipping waiver came in response to a request from Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello. The waiver, the White House said, would go into effect immediately.

Rossello responded on Twitter to Trump's action: "Thank you @POTUS."

Duke had waived the law earlier this month to help ease fuel shortages in the Southeast following hurricanes Harvey and Irma. That order included Puerto Rico but expired last week, shortly after Maria struck.

The Trump administration initially said a waiver was not needed for Puerto Rico because there were enough U.S.-flagged ships available to ferry goods to the island.</s>The destruction wrought by Hurricane Maria on the 3.4 million residents of Puerto Rico resurfaced a disturbing fact – many Americans don't know the first thing about the Caribbean island.

A USA Today/Suffolk University poll conducted in March found that fewer than half of Americans (47%) believe that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth.

Instead, 30% of the people surveyed thought residents of the island are citizens of Puerto Rico. Another 21% just didn't know where the people of Puerto Rico belong.

That may help explain why the nation rallied behind the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Irma in Florida, but have not responded in the same way to the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

"What I fear is that the federal government is not stepping up as fully and as quickly as we must," Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., whose parents are Puerto Rican, said on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday. "We need an air lift. We need an effort the scale of Dunkirk. We need the federal government to go all in."

President Trump announced Tuesday morning that he will visit the island next week, but confusion remains. So what exactly is Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico first became a U.S. territory following the Spanish-American War, which was ignited by the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898. The war ended with the U.S. acquiring many of Spain's possessions, including Cuba, Guam, the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

In 1952, Puerto Ricans adopted a new constitution, which established the current relationship of Puerto Rico as a commonwealth of the United States.

Under that arrangement, Puerto Rico shares many similarities to U.S. states. Its residents elect their own legislative assembly, a governor, and a representative to the U.S. House of Representatives. But unlike U.S. states, Puerto Ricans on the island cannot vote in presidential elections, and their representative in the House — known as a resident commissioner — has no vote.

The island also has a Federal Affairs Administration, based in Washington, D.C., which represents the island before the federal government, the 50 state governments and U.S. businesses.

Its residents are U.S. citizens

In 1917, the U.S. Congress passed the Jones–Shafroth Act, which grants U.S. citizenship to anyone born on the island.

As U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans can freely travel and move to the U.S. mainland without a passport or a visa. For Puerto Ricans, traveling to the mainland is the same as a New Yorker crossing into New Jersey or flying to Hawaii.

Thousands of Puerto Ricans have taken advantage of that in recent years as the island's finances have crumbled. From 2006 to 2015, about 445,000 left the island for the mainland, more than 10% of the island's population, according to the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute. Most of them live in New York, Florida, and New Jersey.

As citizens, Puerto Ricans can also volunteer to serve, or be drafted into, the military. About 18,000 Puerto Ricans served in World War I, 65,000 in World War II, 61,000 in the Korean War, and 48,000 in Vietnam, according to Puerto Rico's former governor Luis Fortuño.

Puerto Ricans get some, but not all, federal benefits

As U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans receive many of the same financial benefits, and liabilities, of their mainland counterparts. They pay most federal taxes, including payroll, Social Security and Medicare taxes. But they do not pay federal personal income taxes.

Puerto Ricans receive many, but not all, federal benefits. For example, the federal government matches 100% of Medicaid funding for people living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, but matches only 57.2% of Medicaid expenditures for residents of Puerto Rico. Congress has also capped annual Medicaid spending in Puerto Rico.

Finances in Puerto Rico were dire even before Maria hit

Hurricane Maria hit the island at the worst possible time as the government was already grappling with a historic economic crisis that has forced the closure of schools, hospitals and other government services.

In May, an oversight board appointed to manage the crisis filed for the equivalency of bankruptcy protection. The government is being crushed by $74 billion in debts and $49 billion in pension liabilities, but its creditors are worried the island will default on its payments.

Even Trump raised that concern in a series of tweets Monday night lamenting the "billions of dollars owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with."</s>Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico as an “extremely dangerous” category 4 storm last week, causing mass devastation, deaths, and catastrophic flooding, in addition to wiping out electricity across the entire island.

In the wake of the disaster, many in the U.S. watched the humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean unfold in horror from the safety of our homes. With scarce food, fuel, and cell service, Puerto Rico is in need of immense aid — here are some ways you can help those affected.

Donate money. “Monetary donations are the best way to help people affected by international disasters,” as the Center for International Disaster Information notes. Puerto Rico’s First Lady, Beatriz Roselló, has established the charity United for Puerto Rico: Together Changing Paths, which is accepting donations online (including through Paypal) to provide aid and support.

You could also donate to UNICEF, which is working to get emergency survival kits to kids in Puerto Rico; Direct Relief, which is providing medical relief to Puerto Rico and neighboring Islands; Hispanic Federation’s “Unidos” Hurricane Maria relief fund; One America Appeal — a group established by former U.S. presidents that’s assisting in hurricane aid efforts; International Medical Corps, which is providing emergency response in the area; and other aid groups on the ground in Puerto Rico. CharityNavigator is also a great resource for finding other highly-ranked organizations you might want to donate to for Hurricane Maria relief. GoFundMe has also created a hub page of its many fundraising campaigns for Maria relief efforts.

Donate supplies. At the moment, cash donations are generally preferred because — according the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster — in early stages of response, most groups are unable to accommodate any material good donations. However, if you would like to donate supplies, United for Puerto Rico put together a guide about what emergency goods and construction supplies they need most. The list, which you can check out here, includes bottled water, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, diapers, canned foods, blankets, dry foods, baby formula, and much more. You can donate the requested supplies at local donation spots set up nationwide (for instance, in New York City, 17 firehouses are accepting donations to send to Puerto Rico, and and in Miami, the Puerto Rican Leadership Council of South Florida is also taking supply donations). Check your local listings to find out where to send the goods.

Donate blood. As after any disaster, blood donations are also needed in Puerto Rico. OneBlood, a nonprofit blood center serving Florida and the Southeast, has been sending daily blood and platelet shipments to hospitals in Puerto Rico while working closely with American Red Cross, Blood Centers of America, and America’s Blood Centers. If you’re in a region the group serves, you can donate blood through OneBlood. Otherwise, if you’re elsewhere in the U.S., the American Red Cross also has information on how to donate blood.

Volunteer. National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters is looking for volunteers to help in communities across Puerto Rico (after public officials and disaster relief organizations assess the damage and need for help). You can register on its website. If you do end up volunteering, you must be willing to work with survivors of all backgrounds, and you must also be aware that there will be no power in many areas and you’ll likely have to stay in shelters or other arrangements. You can also register to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild homes in Puerto Rico — again, once the hurricane’s damage has been fully assessed.</s>First, Hurricane Maria knocked out power and water to Puerto Rico. Then diesel fuel, gas and water became scarce. Now, it’s money.

The aftermath of the powerful storm has resulted in a near-total shutdown of the U.S. territory’s economy that could last for weeks and has many people running seriously low on cash and worrying that it will become even harder to survive on this storm-ravaged island.

There are long lines at the banks that are open with reduced hours or the scattered ATMs that are operational amid an islandwide power outage and near total loss of telecommunications. Many people are unable to work or run their businesses because diesel to run generators is in short supply or they can’t spend all day waiting for gas to fill their car.

Engineer Octavio Cortes predicts it will only get worse because so many of the problems are inter-connected and cannot be easily resolved.

“I don’t know how much worse it’s going to get,” Cortes said as he joined other motorists stopping on a bridge over a river in northern Puerto Rico to catch a faint cellphone signal. “Right now it’s manageable, but I don’t know about next week or after that.”

The father of six typically works from home or travels around the world for his job, but neither approach is possible now because the power is still out for nearly all 3.4 million people in Puerto Rico and flights off the island are down to only a few each day.

While Cortes is OK for the moment, others don’t have nearly the same resources.

Cruzita Mojica is an employee of the Puerto Rico Treasury Department in San Juan. While she, like many public sector workers, has been called back to work she can’t go because she has to care for her elderly mother in the aftermath of the storm. She got up at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday and went to four ATM machines only to find each one empty.

“Of course I took out money before the hurricane, but it’s gone already,” she said. “We’re without gasoline. Without money. Without food. This is a disaster.”

Surgical technician Dilma Gonzalez said she had only $40 left and her job hasn’t called people back to work yet in the capital. “Until they let us know otherwise, I’m not supposed to go back,” she said with a shrug as she pressure washed the street in front of her house, sending muddy debris flying.

All are struggling with the overwhelming devastation of Hurricane Maria, which began tearing across the island early in the morning of Sept. 20 as a Category 4 storm with winds of 155 mph. It destroyed the entire electricity grid while grinding up homes, businesses, roads and farms. At least 16 people were killed. There still is no exact tally of the cost and full extent of the damage, but Gov. Ricardo Rossello says it will bring a complete halt to the economy for at least a month.

“This is the single biggest, major catastrophe in the history of Puerto Rico, bar none, and it is probably the biggest hurricane catastrophe in the United States,” Rossello said Wednesday as he delivered aid to the southern town of Salinas, whose mayor says 100 per cent of the agriculture there was wiped out when the wind tore up plantain, corn, vegetables and other crops.

On Thursday the Trump administration announced it was waiving the Jones Act, a little-known federal law that prohibits foreign-flagged ships from shuttling goods between U.S. ports, for Puerto Rico. Republicans and Democrats have pushed for the move, saying it could help get desperately needed supplies to the island more quickly and at less cost.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Twitter that President Donald Trump had “authorized the Jones Act be waived for Puerto Rico” in response to a request from Rossello and that it “will go into effect immediately.”

Antonia Garcia, a retiree who lives in the city of Bayamon, said she was down to her last $4. She spent a day using precious gas to look for an ATM that was in operation because she couldn’t get into her credit union, which was taking only 200 customers a day. “This has become chaotic,” she said.

Puerto Rico was already struggling before the storm. The island has been in a recession for more than a decade, the poverty rate was 45 per cent and unemployment was around 10 per cent, higher than any U.S. state. Manufacturers of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, which are the most important segment of the economy, have been shedding jobs for years. Now everything from multinational companies to small businesses and ranches are scrambling to get enough fuel to run generators while their employees struggle to even get to work.

Before the storm, the island’s government was in the midst of bitter negotiations with creditors to restructure a portion of its $73 billion in debt, which the previous governor declared unpayable. Rossello appeared to warn the bondholders that the storm had made things worse. “Puerto Rico practically will have no income for the next month,” he told reporters.

Making matters worse for many consumers is the fact that those food stores that are open, typically on reduced hours, are unable to process credit or bank cards or the local system of welfare payments. The businesses are insisting on cash, even though that is technically illegal.

Still, as in any economic crisis, there are people who find the upside. Christian Mendoza said the car wash where he works hasn’t re-opened so he has been selling bottled water, even without refrigeration. “The water hot and it still went like you wouldn’t believe,” he said.

Another relative success story is Elpidio Fernandez, a 78-year-old who sells coconut and passion fruit ice cream from a pushcart on the streets of San Juan and has a supplier with a generator. He has made up to $500 on some days since the storm.

“Business has multiplied by a thousand,” he said, but he quickly added: “Even though I’m doing well, I don’t feel good because I know other people are suffering.”

Ben Fox And Danica Coto, The Associated Press</s>PUERTO RICO – American rapper Pitbull and billionaire Mark Cuban are lending private planes to the ongoing relief effort in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island.

On Tuesday, Puerto Rico Congresswoman Jenniffer Gonzales tweeted, “Thank you Pitbull for lending your private plane to move cancer patients from PR to USA so that they can get chemo.”

Pitbull told the New York Daily News, “Thank God we’re blessed to help. Just doing my part.”

Most homes are without power and phone service, with little hope of having it restored soon. Food and medicine are dwindling, especially for those isolated by impassable roads. And rescuers still are finding and removing desperate people from their demolished communities.

Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, decided to lend the team plane to Mavericks guard and Puerto Rican native, J.J. Barea, who left Monday for the island, according to ESPN.

"They loaded up a bunch of stuff, supples, etc. to take over to Puerto Rico, and they're going to turn around and come back," coach Rick Carlisle told the station. "He's going to take his mom and grandmother back with him, and my understanding is his dad is going to stay over there and slug it out with all the recovery efforts."

Barea has also started a fundraiser that has surpassed $100,000.

The current situation in Puerto Rico is, in short, a humanitarian crisis, San Juan's mayor told CNN on Tuesday.

"We are finding dialysis patients that haven't been able to contact their providers, so we are having to transport them in near-death conditions," Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz said, recalling a group's visit to two San Juan-area nursing homes this week. "We are finding people whose oxygen tanks are running out, because ... small generators now don't have any diesel."

Searchers are trying to visit every structure in the capital area, she said.

"Our bodies are so tired, but our souls are so full of strength, that we will get to everyone that we can get to," Yulin said.

Two people died in an intensive care unit in a San Juan hospital after it ran out of diesel, Yulin said. Their causes of death weren't immediately available. It wasn't clear whether those deaths were among the at least 16 deaths that Karixia Ortiz, spokeswoman for the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety and Vilmar Trinta, spokesperson of Puerto Rico's Police superintendent, attributed to the storm.

Maria struck September 20, knocking out power for nearly all the 3.4 million residents and demolishing structures on an island already struggling after Hurricane Irma's brush earlier this month.

Nearly 1.6 million electric customers in Puerto Rico are without power, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Energy Department, not counting those using generators as a backup.</s>Puerto Rico’s governor said officials were working to get food, fuel and water “everywhere on the island” as millions of people continued to suffer without the basics and reports emerged of vital supplies stranded at Puerto Rico’s main port.

About 97% of the US commonwealth’s 3.4 million residents were still in the dark Wednesday, one week after Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said. About half the residents do not have running water.

Puerto Ricans are waiting hours in line to get gas, food and cash. Gas stations and supermarkets are rationing supplies, while banks are running low on cash.

“Right now we are in emergency mode,” Rosselló said on Wednesday afternoon. “Our focus is not necessarily restoring energy. The energy grid has been destroyed. … And we need to rebuild it. That does not get rebuilt in days.”

Asked if he thought the federal government was doing everything it can to help the island, Rosselló said, “Well, they are. This is an unprecedented event. President Trump has been in close communication with me practically every day making sure we have the assets, giving orders to his team so that they can execute.”

The governor said getting aid where it’s needed has been a challenge because of the magnitude of the destruction on the island.

“This has been the biggest catastrophe in the history Puerto Rico in terms of natural disasters,” he said.

Critics said the government’s aid effort could be improved if Washington lifted the Jones Act, an obscure, nearly 100-year-old law that requires all goods ferried between US ports to be carried on ships built, owned and operated by Americans. The law had the unintended consequence of making it more expensive to ship things from the US mainland to Puerto Rico. Trump said Wednesday “we’re thinking” about lifting the Jones Act for Puerto Rican ports in the wake of Hurricane Maria, but he said a “lot of shippers” don’t want it lifted.

Rosselló said he had not asked the President to lift the Jones Act so aid might flow more fully to Puerto Rico. “I did not solicit that to him personally but it is something that would help Puerto Rico, certainly, at least in the short run,” Rosselló said.

As desperate Puerto Ricans wait for aid, there’s not enough food to go around. In the town of Utuado, Lydia Rivera has started to ration crackers and drink rainwater to keep her two grandchildren alive.

The hurricane killed 16 people in Puerto Rico, 27 in the island nation of Dominica and one in the US Virgin Islands. As Puerto Rico attempts to recover from the disaster, there were signs that aid sent from the US mainland isn’t making it to people in need. And the US recovery efforts in Puerto Rico have been markedly different from the recent responses to other Americans in hurricane-stricken Texas and Florida.

With supplies running out, many Puerto Ricans are collecting water from mountain streams.

Harry Torres said the water is all they have for cleaning and drinking until help comes. They’ve heard on the radio that trucks loaded with supplies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have arrived on the island.

Some help began arriving. On Wednesday, a plane carrying 3,500 pounds of water, Army meals ready-to-eat, diapers and other supplies headed from Florida to Puerto Rico. The plane, which usually carries out intelligence missions, returned to the US mainland with dozens of family members of federal employees.

Two military officials told CNN on Wednesday that another 2,000 to 3,000 US troops will be sent to Puerto Rico in the coming days to assist with aid. One official with US Northern Command said there are approximately 2,500 active-duty troops in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. This does not include National Guard forces.

“We are getting help from the federal government, but this is an unprecedented set of circumstances,” Rosselló said Wednesday. “We want to make sure that we recognize that a lot of resources are coming in. They are coming in by air or by boats. But they are starting to execute.”

Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have seen fewer personnel since Hurricane Maria hit than Texas and Florida did during recent hurricanes in those states.

FEMA said more than 10,000 federal staff members were on the ground in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands assisting search-and-rescue and recovery efforts.

Trump announced he will visit Puerto Rico next Tuesday, nearly two weeks after Maria struck the US commonwealth.

“Puerto Rico is a very difficult situation,” he said Wednesday. “I feel so badly for the people.”

The President has faced criticism for his response to Puerto Rico, compared with Texas and Florida — two states he visited within four days of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

With nearly all Puerto Ricans still without power Wednesday, the lack of electricity and fuel have yielded dire consequences.

At a hospital in San Juan, two people died in an intensive care unit after it ran out of diesel, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said.

Residents are relying on generators to keep appliances such as air conditioners, medical devices and refrigerators running.

At the San Jorge Children’s Hospital in San Juan, 12 children depend on ventilators to survive, but the hospital has only a limited amount of fuel for generators, said Domingo Cruz Vivaldi, the hospital’s executive director.

The hospital is the largest private children’s medical center in the Caribbean. When the hospital ran out of diesel Monday, the ventilators had to run on batteries for hours until another hospital offered them fuel.

“We were very thankful for that. We were very lucky,” Cruz Vivaldi said.

The hospital is working to secure more gas, he said, because that diesel will only last about two days.

‘People are starting to get desperate’

Before sunrise every day, dozens of people hauling red plastic gas cans start lining up at gas stations. They need fuel to power their cars in case of an emergency or to keep generators running at home.

Some wait for up to six hours armed with lawn chairs and umbrellas.

“If the gasoline arrives, it will fix our problems,” Utuado Mayor Ernesto Irizarry said. “People are starting to get desperate,”

At least 60 people have been arrested for violating the overnight curfew ordered by the governor to keep the island safe.

And 36 have been arrested for looting and theft in Humacao, Caguas, San Juan and Bayamón, said Michelle Hernandez, superintendent of the Puerto Rico police.

While Puerto Ricans await more government help, some companies and a Florida college are stepping up.

Telecommunications giant AT&T is bringing floating antennas to help re-connect Puerto Ricans, said Rosselló, the governor.

And Miami Dade College will offer in-state tuition to displaced college students from Puerto Rico, the college said via Twitter.

Rosselló said he hopes the kindness shown by Puerto Rico during Hurricanes Harvey and Irma will be returned.

“The people know that Puerto Ricans are proud US citizens,” he said.

“After Irma, we helped out others — about 4,000 US citizens that were stranded. We gave them shelter and food. During Harvey, we sent out resources to Texas as well. … And now it is time to take a quick decision and help out Puerto Rico as others have done.”

Maria and another storm continue to churn in the Atlantic Ocean but are not expected to threaten the US mainland.

Now a Category 1 hurricane, Maria is 165 miles east of North Carolina and is expected to move northeast and then east out into the Atlantic. Hurricane Lee, a Category 3 storm, is 485 miles east-southeast of Bermuda and will likely move north and northeast.</s>Over the past few days, Rihanna has spent her time on Twitter calling out President Donald Trump and urging him to pay attention to the people in Puerto Rico who are in great need after the devastation of Hurricane Maria.

On Thursday morning (September 28), the singer posted the cover of the Daily News with an urgent message: “Don’t let your people die like this.”

The newspaper headline read, “No food, no water, no power, no medical care for the dying. Puerto Rico needs help, Mr. President!”

She also share a tearful CBS News interview with the mayor of San Juan.

“I know that leaders aren’t supposed to cry…But we are having a humanitarian crisis here,” the San Juan mayor tells CBS News in the clip.

The singer did praise the former living presidents for their efforts. “Round of APPLAUSE to these gentlemen for taking control of this devastating situation!!!” she wrote, sharing a link to a story about their expanded fundraising efforts.

See all the tweets below.

Dear @realDonaldTrump I know you've probably already seen this, but I just wanted to make sure! Don't let your peo… twitter.com/i/web/status/9… — 

Rihanna (@rihanna) September 28, 2017</s>New York state, home to more than 1 million people of Puerto Rican descent, is sending a lot more than thoughts and prayers to the hurricane-ravaged territory.

New York state, home to more than 1 million people of Puerto Rican descent, is sending a lot more than thoughts and prayers to the hurricane-ravaged territory.

The U.S. federal government has dispatched large numbers of personnel to Puerto Rico to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and local officials have praised the response.

The U.S. federal government has dispatched large numbers of personnel to Puerto Rico to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and local officials have praised the response.

Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz said Thursday morning that thousands of containers holding aid for the island are stuck at the port.

Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz said Thursday morning that thousands of containers holding aid for the island are stuck at the port.

Lawmakers demand details on the use of private emails by some of President Donald Trump's close advisers.

Lawmakers demand details on the use of private emails by some of President Donald Trump's close advisers.

Some in administration use personal phones, despite advice

Some in administration use personal phones, despite advice

A money crisis is emerging in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, with banks closed or on limited hours and many people unable to work and running short of cash.

A money crisis is emerging in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, with banks closed or on limited hours and many people unable to work and running short of cash.

Now even money is running out in hurricane-hit Puerto Rico

Now even money is running out in hurricane-hit Puerto Rico

Power lines are down after the impact of Hurricane Maria, which hit the eastern region of the island in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

WASHINGTON (AP) - On the defensive over the pace of federal help for Puerto Rico, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans cleared the way Thursday for more supplies and government cash for the hurricane-ravaged U.S. island.

Trump waived federal restrictions on foreign ships delivering cargo. And House Speaker Paul Ryan said the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief account will get a $6.7 billion boost by the end of the week. Trump and his advisers, meanwhile, defended the administration's response to the devastation on the island, which was hit by Hurricane Maria Sept. 20 with many people left desperate for power, food and other supplies.

"The electric power grid in Puerto Rico is totally shot. Large numbers of generators are now on Island. Food and water on site," Trump tweeted early in the day.

The developments Thursday came after Trump came under sharp criticism for what critics said was a too-slow response to a humanitarian crisis among Puerto Rico's 3.4 million residents.

From the White House driveway to cable television, a squad of advisers defended the president's response and described the relief efforts as well underway, with most hospitals "operational."

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke said she signed the waiver of a federal law called the Jones Act to clear the way for foreign-flagged ships to deliver supplies between U.S. ports.

"You are seeing devastation in Puerto Rico. That is the fault of the hurricane," Duke told reporters in the White House driveway. "The relief effort is under control."

Tom Bossert, Trump's homeland security adviser, said the impression of a slow response isn't so much wrong as it is outdated. He said more than 40 of the island's 69 hospitals are accepting patients.

And FEMA Administrator Brock Long said the efforts have been hampered by damaged airports and ports on the island.

"The question is that last mile," Long told CNN, speaking of the difficulty of getting aid all the way to those in need.

Ryan, meanwhile, said a "huge capital injection will occur in two days" to help Puerto Rico recover. He noted Trump had waived a matching funds requirement, which means the cash-strapped island won't have to contribute to the initial costs of the federal assistance. The Wisconsin Republican said he expects the Trump administration to send Congress a request for a long-term recovery package once damage assessments are conducted.

"We will quickly act on that request," Ryan said.

Duke said the shipping waiver came in response to a request from Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello. The waiver, the White House said, would go into effect immediately.

Rossello responded on Twitter to Trump's action: "Thank you @POTUS."

Duke had waived the law earlier this month to help ease fuel shortages in the Southeast following hurricanes Harvey and Irma. That order included Puerto Rico but expired last week, shortly after Maria struck.

The Trump administration initially said a waiver was not needed for Puerto Rico because there were enough U.S.-flagged ships available to ferry goods to the island.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>"At @ricardorossello request, @POTUS has authorized the Jones Act be waived for Puerto Rico. It will go into effect immediately," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted Thursday morning.

Her tweet comes after Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said he asked the White House to loosen the regulations Wednesday night.

He joined the growing list of officials who argued that lifting the the Jones Act -- a federal law designed to protect the financial interests of US shipbuilders by limiting shipping by foreign vessels -- would help expedite supplies to the ravaged island. The act has had the unintended consequence of making it twice as expensive to ship things from the US mainland to Puerto Rico as it is to ship from any other foreign port in the world, according to Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain's office.

The act was quickly lifted to help Texas and Florida in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The Department of Homeland Security said it was able to lift the restrictions quickly because the Department of Defense requested a waiver for those states and the department hadn't yet done so for Puerto Rico. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that "we're thinking" about lifting the law, but added that a "lot of shippers" didn't want it lifted. What the Jones Act controversy is all about In the wake of the devastation in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz -- along with other US politicians, including McCain and Marco Rubio, R-Florida -- had urged the suspension of the Jones Act in order to speed up supply deliveries.
U.S. President Donald Trump waives the Jones Act for Puerto Rico after he first disallowed additional aid, citing shipping industry business interests. Senator John McCain says the Jones Act makes prices for food, water, and other emergency supplies too high in Puerto Rico.