Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands' religious leaders are begging for aid and a pause to debt repayments to help with the 'serious humanitarian crisis' following Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

It comes after President Donald Trump appeared to joke about the cost of the relief project and attacked the island's political leaders for their response.

'Before the hurricanes hit, we were dealing with a severe debt crisis on the islands with troubling austerity policies. Now we are dealing with a serious humanitarian crises,' the leaders wrote in a joint statement.

Signed by San Juan's Catholic Archbishop, Roberto González Nieves, St. Thomas' Catholic Bishop Herbert A. Bevard and the Evangelical Bible Society Head Reverend Heriberto Martínez, it added: 'Our islands can not pay debt until we've rebuilt and we see positive economic recovery. We need a debt payment moratorium, debts must be cancelled and reduced to sustainable payable levels.'

It comes after Trump seemed to complain about the money involved - telling local officials: 'I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you've thrown our budget a little out of whack.

'But that's fine because we've saved a lot of lives.'

He contrasted the disaster with Hurricane Katrina which struck Texas, calling that a 'real catastrophe'.

Referring to an initial death toll he said: 'Sixteen versus literally thousands of people.

'You can be very proud. Everybody around this table, and everybody watching, can really be very proud of what's taken place in Puerto Rico.'

The religious leaders added in a separate statement: 'As we struggle to recover from these terrible storms, we join religious partners from around our world in calling for an economy that defends and lifts the vulnerable. Our loving God intends for us all to have enough and to live in harmony with one another and our planet.'