The recent severe storm activity that has impacted the state of Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and six other Caribbean islands has placed immense stress on the US emergency response infrastructure.

Two weeks after Hurricanes Irma, Jose and more recently Maria hit Puerto Rico, 95 percent of the island population remains without power. Not only were these perfect storms, but as highly exposed, low-lying islands, Puerto Rico and its Caribbean neighbors are perfect impact environments for sustaining maximum hurricane damage.

Post-impact access to the islands from off-shore is a challenge, as is access on land given the heavy debris that have been block roadways and thoroughfares. Loss of power and communications have rendered search and rescue, emergency medical assistance, and the provisioning of drinking water and sustenance to victims haphazard and difficult.

Delivering temporary power generation is mission critical as the first phase of the recovery process. Attention will soon shift to the restoration of permanent energy infrastructure, ideally leveraging more robust systems that will withstand the impact of future extreme weather scenarios.

PWRstation chief business development officer Ludovic Roche says,” with the likelihood of such weather patterns becoming increasingly common, it’s essential for today’s first responders to consider the latest emergency energy equipment.”

PWRstation currently offers the world’s first containerized retractable solar generators. This gives first responders access to simple, ultra-rapid solar activations (in minutes), deployments of variable durations, and the ability to relocate solar assets as needed. Mr. Roche adds, “They are opened – and closed – just as quickly. When another hurricane is on the horizon, the PV panels fold into the container and get locked down in minutes, thus playing a dual role… for emergency response and long term solar generation with built-in hurricane protection. There’s little point in rebuilding the same unprotected solar installations only to have them face the same destructive power a few years down the road.”