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Article snippet: WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved on Thursday to step up its assistance to Puerto Rico more than a week after Hurricane Maria, appointing a three-star general to coordinate with agencies and vowing to give the island all it needed as aides tried to stave off comparisons to the response to Hurricane Katrina more than a decade ago. But on Puerto Rico, the desperation and frustration only grew. Shelters ran out of supplies and residents lined up all night to purchase ice and fuel, only to walk away with a bag of cold water or just a few gallons of gas. Others complained of an absence of basics like tarps for roofs and the continuing lack of running water. Officials still struggled to get supplies out of port to be distributed across an island of 3.4 million people where there is no electricity and scant phone service. Hospitals ran low on diesel for generators. The island has become a landscape of long lines and growing impatience with the pace of the response to what Puerto Rico’s governor called the “greatest catastrophe” in its modern history. Lawmakers and local officials alike called on President Trump to place the military in charge and to send more troops, aircraft and ships. “With all the needs there are, we go out every day to the streets and are face to face with the people — you don’t see a single government agency,” said Elizabeth Perez, a police officer in Ponce, P.R., who recently visited poor neighborhoods in her district and found people li... Link to the full article to read more