“Real Housewives of New York City” star Bethenny Frankel was so moved by the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Maria that she headed down to Puerto Rico this week and has been on the ground organizing major recovery efforts.
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Frankel has been tweeting nonstop in an effort to rally support, supplies and the aircraft space needed to transport these items to the affected islands.
She initially flew to Puerto Rico with four private planes and brought diapers, food, water, insulin and other supplies. Now, she’s helping connect people and organizations in a quest to save lives and rebuild the region amid widespread devastation.
#THISISACRISIS Pls look @ this person's home. Theyre living here w/ diabetic family member & no water to clean the mud #100percent #BStrong pic.twitter.com/8ZtxF4YlPA
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) October 4, 2017
The reality TV star and businesswoman told Page Six that she was shocked by what she observed when she arrived in Puerto Rico.
“The relief needs to be organized, delegated and executed. It is a war zone,” she told Page Six. “I do not play the blame game, but the [78] towns of Puerto Rico need to be methodically mapped out and visited, and the relief needs to be organized, delegated and executed.”
Now we are working on generators & relief for Viecques now too. These are the forgotten, hard to reach places.
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) October 4, 2017
Sharing her own experience, Frankel said that she arrived in one town with a truck filled with “basic necessities” and that people there acted as though she was “giving out diamonds” — a proclamation that sheds light on the extent of the troubling situation.
Frankel has also said that she will send her planes back to the U.S. mainland filled with “cancer patients, diabetics and people that are dying” so that they can seek treatment in the states.
“It is like nothing I have ever seen,” she told People. “People’s entire homes and cars are immersed in mud, the likes I’ve never seen.”
Ok the fam w dying father is flying home Thurs. Onto the next.
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) October 4, 2017
Follow along on Bethenny’s journey to help victims in Puerto Rico here. And if you’re looking for ways you can help, her ongoing tweets will inform you on what’s most needed.