A crew on Wednesday is slated to depart from Travis Air Force Base in Solano County for storm-ravaged Puerto Rico to provide relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
The crew will pick up a generator in North Carolina and fly it to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to power air traffic control systems, which would allow for military and civilian flights to get on and off of the island "a lot faster," according tp Cap. Lyndsey Horn, the Chief of Public Affairs at Travis Air Force Base.
Large portions of the island, which is inhabited by 3.4 million U.S. citizens, continue to remain without sufficient food, water and fuel after the category 4 storm walloped the territory last week. Officials said electrical power may not be fully restored for more than a month.
The Trump administration said it was sending a number of ships and thousands more military personnel to Puerto Rico to address the growing humanitarian crisis. Critics and storm victims have complained that the federal response to the territory has been insufficient.
The administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, said Tuesday the devastation wrought by the Category 4 storm presented logistical challenges, with badly damaged airports and seaports making it difficult to get aid and personnel to the stricken island.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
