WASHINGTON, D.C. (FNN) – President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. has declared a major disaster in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico following the devastating impacts of Tropical Storm Ernesto from August 13 to August 16, 2024. Federal assistance has been authorized to aid recovery efforts in over 25 municipalities, addressing emergency work and the repair or replacement of damaged infrastructure.
A bridge submerged by the flooded La Plata River is seen in the aftermath of Ernesto, in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, on Aug. 14. (Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters)
Puerto Rican Heritage Network Praises Federal Disaster Declaration for Storm Ernesto Relief
The announcement comes as a relief to many Puerto Rican families on the island and the mainland. Former Florida State Representative Daisy Morales, President of the Puerto Rican Heritage Network (PRHN), commended the Biden Administration for its prompt response and support.
“Families in the mainland are relieved Puerto Ricans in the motherland are getting federal assistance from the Biden Administration,” Morales stated. “We will continue to monitor the recovery efforts.”
Federal Assistance Overview
The declaration provides federal funding on a cost-sharing basis for:
Emergency Work: Clearing debris, restoring critical services, and temporary housing.
Repair or Replacement: Addressing damage to public facilities, roads, bridges, and utilities.
Hazard Mitigation: Efforts to reduce future disaster risks across the entire Commonwealth.
David Miller, Jr. of FEMA has been appointed to coordinate federal recovery operations in the affected areas. FEMA will work closely with commonwealth and local governments, as well as nonprofit organizations, to ensure swift and effective aid delivery.
Impact of Tropical Storm Ernesto
The storm wreaked havoc across Puerto Rico, causing:
Severe flooding and landslides in several municipalities.
Damage to homes, public facilities, and critical infrastructure.
Economic disruption in both urban and rural areas.
The municipalities most affected include Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Añasco, Barranquitas, Canóvanas, Ceiba, Coamo, Comerío, Corozal, Hormigueros, Jayuya, Las Marías, Loíza, Manatí, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayagüez, Naguabo, Orocovis, San Lorenzo, San Sebastián, Santa Isabel, Vega Alta, Vieques, Villalba, and Yabucoa.
What’s Next?
Further Assessments: FEMA will conduct additional damage evaluations, and new designations may follow.
Long-Term Recovery: Reconstruction of homes, roads, and facilities while implementing hazard mitigation projects.
Community Support: Nonprofit organizations and local governments will play a vital role in supporting affected families.
For inquiries or updates, the FEMA News Desk can be contacted at (202) 646-3272 or FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.
Sunday, September 14 – Following its acclaimed world premiere in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) earlier this week, Lucía Aleñar Iglesias’ debut feature FORASTERA has been awarded the International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI Prize) Dedicated to Emerging Filmmakers by the International Federation of Film Critics.
The award distinguishes FORASTERA as one of the standout discoveries of TIFF 2025, honoring Aleñar Iglesias’ bold vision and the film’s haunting meditation on memory and grief.
“Spanish cinema, long shaped by the exuberance of Pedro Almodóvar, has found a new distinctive voice in Lucía Aleñar Iglesias. Set on sun-drenched Mallorca, FORASTERA follows 16-year-old Cata, whose carefree family holiday is brought to a halt by the death of her grandmother. In her grief, the teenager takes on the older woman’s persona — wearing her clothes, adopting her gestures and silences. Aleñar Iglesias directs with restraint and precision, finding power in understatement. Performances from newcomer Zoe Stein and veteran Lluís Homar anchor the film’s dreamlike rhythms. What might sound slight becomes luminous: a meditation on an adolescent’s first encounter with death, and a ghost story about how the past lingers in the present. FORASTERA is a quietly assured debut, simple yet transformative, marking Aleñar Iglesias as a filmmaker the FIPRESCI jury would like to bet on,” stated the FIPRESCI jury, which includes Katharina Dockhorn (Germany), Francisco Ferreira (Portugal), Jean-Philippe Guerand (France), Andy Hazel (Australia), and Justine Smith (Canada).
Critics have widely praised the film: Filmmaker Magazine called it “an unexpectedly tender ghost story,” while Cineuropa highlighted Aleñar Iglesias’ ability to capture “the precious ambiguity of a childish perspective in ways reminiscent of Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun,” noting FORASTERA’s “emotional complexity.” The Moveable Fest found it “particularly memorable in chronicling someone at risk of growing up too fast.” That Shelf remarked that the film firmly establishes Aleñar Iglesias as “a director to watch.” Next Best Picture noted that it is “a stellar example of what real precise filmmaking looks like”, and “a testament to Aleñar Iglesias’ knowledge of the story she’s telling and Agnès Piqué’s stunning and intentional cinematography.”
Filmmaker Lucía Aleñar Iglesias said in her acceptance speech: “Thank you so much to the jury of the International Federation of Film Critics, this is a huge honor, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I want to thank Diana Cadavid for programming our film and giving it this platform. I want to thank Virginie Devesa for fighting for this film, believing in it, and getting us here. I want to thank my producers Marta, Ari, Tono, Barbara, Montse, Olivier, Lara, Marta, Giovanni, Paco — everyone who worked on this film put their hearts into it. Zoe Stein and Lluís Homar for bringing the strangeness to life. I wanted to make a film that portrayed a very strange feeling I had and wasn’t sure people would relate to it, so this is a huge recognition for me. Thank you very much. I’m very excited for more people to see FORASTERA.”
FORASTERA stars the rising talent Zoe Stein (Manticore) alongside Lluís Homar (Broken Embraces, Bad Education, Eva), Núria Prims, Marta Angelat, Martina García, and Nonni Ardal. The film was produced by Ariadna Dot of Vilaüt Films, Marta Cruañas of Presenta, Tono Folguera of Lastor Media, Bàrbara Ferrer and Cesc Mulet of La Perifèrica Produccions, from Spain; Olivier Guerpillon and Marta Reguera of Sweden’s Fox In The Snow; and Giovanni Pompili of Italy’s Kino Produzioni. The Mallorca-shot feature was lensed by Agnès Piqué, edited by Paola Freddi, and scored by acclaimed musicians Anna von Hausswolff and Filip Leyman.
Lucía Aleñar Iglesias, born in Madrid, educated at NYU and Columbia University and based in Los Angeles, developed FORASTERA through the Critics’ Week Next Step program, took part in La Résidence through Cannes Cinéfondation, and received the ArteKino award during MIA Market. Her short of the same name premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2020 and toured major international festivals, including Curtas Vila do Conde, Les Arcs, Oberhausen, among others, and was nominated for a Gaudí Award.
CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana — The Secretary-General and staff of the CARICOM Secretariat are deeply saddened by the passing of Ambassador Elisabeth Ann Harper, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Guyana, on Saturday, September 13, 2025. Her passing marks a profound loss for both Guyana and the wider CARICOM family.
Ambassador Harper was a consummate diplomat who embodied the highest standards of professionalism, grace, and efficiency. Known for her quiet yet firm approach, she consistently offered invaluable insights drawn from her extensive foreign service experience.
Her deep knowledge and unwavering commitment made her a central figure in advancing the goals of the Community. The Secretariat frequently relied on her guidance, especially in navigating complex regional and international affairs.
Her legacy of dignity, dedication, and professionalism will remain a blueprint for public service across the Region. Guyana and the Caribbean have lost a stalwart, and her absence leaves us poorer.
The CARICOM Secretariat extends its deepest sympathies to her family, loved ones, and to the Government and people of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana during this difficult time.
The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival of LaBiennale di Venezia (August 27 – September 6, 2025) has been awarded to the great German director Werner Herzog (Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo, Nosferatu the Vampyre). The decision was made by the Board of Directors of LaBiennale, upon recommendation of the Artistic Director of the Festival, Alberto Barbera.
Statement from Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog, accepting the award, said: “I feel deeply honored to receive a Lifetime Achievement Honorary Golden Lion by the Venice Biennale. I have always tried to be a Good Soldier of Cinema, and this feels like a medal for my work. Thank you. However, I have not gone into retirement. I work as always. A few weeks ago, I just finished a documentary in Africa, Ghost Elephants, and at this moment, I am shooting my next feature film, Bucking Fastard, in Ireland. I am developing an animated film, based on my novel, The Twilight World, and I am acting the voice of a creature in Bong Joon Ho’s upcoming animated film. I am not done yet”.
Statement from Alberto Barbera
Regarding this award, Director Alberto Barbera declared: “A physical filmmaker and indefatigable hiker, Werner Herzog constantly crosses the planet Earth pursuing hitherto unseen images, testing our ability to look, challenging us to grasp what lies beyond the appearance of reality, and probing the limits of filmic representation in an unflagging search for a higher, ecstatic truth and new sensorial experiences. Establishing himself as one of the major innovators of New German Cinema with films such as Signs of Life; Nosferatu the Vampyre; Aguirre, the Wrath of God; and Fitzcarraldo, Bad Lieutenant, Port of Call: New Orleans, and Grizzly Man, he has never ceased from testing the limits of the film language, belying the traditional distinction between documentary and fiction, and at the same time proposing a radical investigation of the topics of communication, the relationship between images and music, and of the infinite beauty of nature and its inevitable corruption. Herzog’s career is both fascinating and hazardous because it involves total commitment and putting oneself on the line to the point of physical risk, where catastrophe constantly lurks. A brilliant narrator of unusual stories, Herzog is also the last heir of the great tradition of German romanticism, a visionary humanist, and a tireless explorer dedicated to perpetual wandering, in search (as he said) «of a decent and fitting place for mankind, a Landscape of the Soul»”.
