Campus Life

Texas A&M Alumnus Leads Electricity Restoration In Puerto Rico

October 17, 2017

Ramon Torres stands in what is left of his sister-in-law's home that was destroyed when Hurricane Maria passed through on September 27, 2017 in Corozal, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico experienced widespread, severe damage including most of the electrical, gas and water grids as well as agricultural destruction after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, passed through. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Ramon Torres stands in what is left of his sister-in-law’s home that was destroyed when Hurricane Maria passed through on September 27, 2017 in Corozal, Puerto Rico. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
By Richard Nira, College of Architecture

Texas A&M construction management graduate, James DeLapp ‘03, a colonel in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is leading efforts to restore electricity to critical facilities in Puerto Rico after the island’s electrical grid was destroyed September 20 by Hurricane Maria’s 150-mph winds.

“Make no mistake — this is a humanitarian disaster involving 3.4 million U.S. citizens,” said the island’s governor, Ricardo Roselló.

In a September 29 CNN interview, DeLapp, commander of the corps’ Puerto Rico field office, said the corps is working with the island’s power authority and the Department of Energy to restore power as quickly as possible.

He cited the island’s terrain as a significant logistical challenge to moving equipment and people where they’re needed.

DeLapp, commander of the corps’ Mobile District and an Illinois native, is a distinguished military graduate from Kansas State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1994.

Prior to assuming command of the Mobile District, DeLapp attended the Army War College, where he earned a Master of Security Studies degree, and served as the commander of the corps’ Nashville District.

This story published originally on ArchOne.

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Media contact: Richard Nira, Communications Specialist, College of Architecture, at 979-845-6863 or rnira@arch.tamu.edu; or Elena Watts, Division of Marketing & Communications, at 979-458-8412 or elenaw@tamu.edu.

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