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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Weekly power outages. Hundreds of uncleared landslides. More than 25,000 homes with blue tarps as roofs.
Recovery from Hurricane Maria has been slow as Puerto Rico on Friday remembered those who died two years ago. The Category 4 storm killed an estimated 2,975 people in its aftermath and caused more than an estimated $100 billion in damage.
Still delayed are millions of dollars in federal funds that officials say are needed to repair roads, build homes and make permanent improvements to the island's unstable power grid, making it hard for Puerto Rico to recover amid a 13-year recession.
While more than $43 billion in federal hurricane recovery funds have been allocated, only $14 billion of the $20 billion obligated by the U.S. government has been disbursed.
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