Once phone service is restored on a widespread basis in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Louisiana Civil Justice Center is going to get a whole lot busier.

The disaster-focused civil legal aid organization in New Orleans is the Federal Emergency Management Agency's official legal aid point-of-contact for residents of the islands. LCJC is taking calls from a toll-free hotline for residents of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who have legal needs or questions stemming from Hurricanes Irma and Maria and cannot pay for an attorney.

Jonathan Rhodes, executive director of the LCJC, said calls are starting to come in from the U.S. Virgin Islands because phone service is coming back online, but few calls are coming in from Puerto Rico because phone service is still spotty.