in san juan. our correspondents are spread across the island there on puerto rico. g gadi schwartz with more on the desperation. >> reporter: in some remotes part of puerto rico, calls for help are written on rooftops, families desperate in the long wait for aid. roads obliterated by mudslides. >> they might be stuck in an area they can't leave. >> reporter: the paurt rico blackhawk helicopters getting aid to remote areas where this 8-year-old says her family needs supplies. she's worried about her grandparents she hasn't heard from in days. >> i hope you are fine and i love you. >> reporter: this chopper crew also responsible for preventing a major environmental catastrophe after nearby oil drilling rig was damaged by the hurricane. if would have come aground, hit puerto rico, how bad could things have gotten? >> pretty bad. >> reporter: just one of the