Effects of Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands

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At 5:00 AM, the National Hurricane Centre has indicated that Hurricane Irma's maximum sustained winds remain near 185 miles per hour (mph) with higher gusts. Irma is the most powerful Atlantic hurricane in recorded history and will be the strongest system to ever make landfall in the Caribbean.... Based on the latest forecasts, the approximate closest point of approach to Road Town from Hurricane Irma is 17 miles northeast. [10]

The last message from the DDM which was sent before total communications failure was sent at 11.34am read:

We are in for a direct hit, a direct hit on Road Town! Move, move to safe room immediately! Move please to safe room immediately! Immediately! Move please. [10]

No further communications were sent. It would later transpire that the offices of the Department of Disaster Management were almost entirely destroyed during the storm. [15]

In the aftermath of the storm a large proportion of the Territory's roads were impassable. Communities were essentially cut-off from each other and the wider world. Telecommunications was rendered virtually non-existent by the destruction of the cellular telephone network and the almost total loss of telephone poles for landlines. [16]

Deaths

Four people died in the Territory as a result of the hurricane. Their names were Charles Thomas, Derek Ragnauth, Xavier 'Dag' Samuels and Richard Alan Benson. [17]

Dag Samuels was a well known athletics coach in the Territory. His protégé, Kyron McMaster, would go on to win gold in the 400m hurdles in the 2018 Commonwealth Games the following year, and would dedicate his victory to his deceased coach. [18]

The Territory also experienced an abnormally high number of deaths in the months of September to December 2017, after the passage of the hurricane. [19]

Damage

Satellite imagery before and after the passing of Hurricane Irma, showing the "browning" of the landscape denuded of vegetation. Hurricane Irma turns Virgin Islands brown.jpg
Satellite imagery before and after the passing of Hurricane Irma, showing the "browning" of the landscape denuded of vegetation.

The most significant damage was on Tortola. [21] The UK's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Tortola on 13 September 2017 and said that he was reminded of photos of Hiroshima after it had been hit by the atom bomb. [22] Real estate investor Joe Chapman said of the hurricane that it was, "incredibly devastating to have your properties damaged..but not only that, the country was destroyed." [23] Approximately 85% of housing stock - over 4,000 homes - were damaged or destroyed. [2] [24] Numerous contemporaneous reports referred to the "browning" of the island, and the bark being stripped from trees. [2] [25]

After the storm, authorities estimated that it would take 6 months to restore public electricity to the entire country; [26] an estimate which proved largely accurate. [27]

Main Street, Road Town in the days after Hurricane Irma. Main Street Road Town after Hurricane Irma.jpg
Main Street, Road Town in the days after Hurricane Irma.
Devastation of the island of Jost Van Dyke after hurricane Irma. Devastation of the island of Jost Van Dyke after hurricane Irma (36787168270).jpg
Devastation of the island of Jost Van Dyke after hurricane Irma.

Availability of food, potable water, fuel and medicine were highly limited. Residents had to queue, sometimes for hours, in the sun to obtain necessities. [28] None of the banks functioned for several days afterwards, and the Territory became a purely cash economy for a period of weeks.

Homeless

Only 279 people were recorded as being provided emergency accommodation by the Government in the immediate aftermath. [29] Although some unofficial estimates were higher, it was still a relatively small fraction of the overall population. Many of the surviving private dwellings were used to accommodate multiple families, which may have assisted the pressure on providing emergency accommodation. [25]

Balsam Ghut prison

Following the hurricane there was extensive damage to the prison, 90% of the buildings were damaged, most had lost their roofs and the perimeter fence was breached at several points. Prisoners eventually forced their way out, some returning that day. Although exact numbers were never provided, the authorities indicated that a number of the prisoners surrendered themselves voluntarily after checking on their families. [30] All except two of the remaining prisoners were subsequently recaptured over the following days. Joint operations by both UK and local police assisted by the Royal Marines secured the prison and returned the vast majority of prisoners within seven days.

High school

Irma damaged the Elmore Stoutt High School building, so students had to move to the former Clarence Thomas Ltd building in Pasea Estate. The students were divided into two shifts as the temporary building is not big enough to accommodate the students at the same time. [31] Students in the morning shift are to go to after school programmes to keep themselves occupied. [32]

Department of Disaster Management

The building which housed the Department of Disaster Management was almost totally destroyed in the storm. [15] Accordingly, the relief and recovery efforts had to be coordinated from a conference room in Peebles Hospital.

Looting

In the days after the hurricane there were reports of looting of local businesses. This included not just food and medical supplies, but also non-essential consumer goods. [33] The looting was brought under control when British troops arrived as part of the relief supplies. [34]

Relief efforts

By 8 September 2017, the UK government sent troops with medical supplies and other aid. [35] The arrival of HMS Ocean, carrying more extensive assistance, was delayed and did not arrive for approximately two weeks. [36]

Royal Marines delivering aid on Jost Van Dyke. Royal Marines deliver aid to British Virgin Islands following Irma.jpg
Royal Marines delivering aid on Jost Van Dyke.

After the hurricane passed, entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, a resident of Necker Island, called on the UK government to develop a massive disaster recovery plan for British islands that were damaged, including "both through short-term aid and long-term infrastructure spending." [37] Premier Orlando Smith also called for a comprehensive aid package to rebuild the BVI. On 10 September, British Prime Minister Theresa May pledged £32 million to the Caribbean region generally for a Hurricane relief fund. [38]

Aid distribution centres were set up in Cane Garden Bay, East End and Hunthum's Ghut. [29]

Evacuations

It took several days before Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport reopened for non-military traffic after the passage of the hurricane. Although it was only lightly damaged, [16] communications equipment was destroyed, and the runway needed to be inspected and secured before allowing flight operations. In the seven days after it was reopened, a total of 1,597 (or approximately 5% of the population) was evacuated by airlift. [29] The number of persons who evacuated by helicopter from private sites or by boat is not recorded.

Curfew

Almost immediately after the passage of the hurricane a state of emergency was declared and the Governor imposed a curfew. After one month, rather than extend the state of emergency, the Government passed the Curfew Act, giving the elected Government power to impose a curfew, which they did immediately. That civilian curfew then ended after a period of three months (after being gradually relaxed by degrees) and so the Territory operated under curfew for a period of three-months. [39]

There are no reliable records of a curfew having been imposed in the Territory in modern times, and there was no legal basis upon which one could have been imposed (absent either legislation or a state of emergency). Therefore, this was likely the first curfew imposed in the British Virgin Islands since at least the colonial era.

Recovery

The estimated damage to property in the British Virgin Islands was initially calculated to be US$3.6 billion. [40] Although there were widespread reports of economic distress and redundancies in the aftermath of the hurricane, [41] no reliable statistics or projections have been published. In the Territory's 2018 annual budget address, the Minister of Finance reported a 46% decline in tourist arrivals, and projected a 9.3% decline in Government revenues, and a contraction of 2.6% in GDP. [42]

Depopulation

A ruined house in Road Town, Tortola after Hurricane Irma. Ruined house on Main Street Road Town Tortola.jpg
A ruined house in Road Town, Tortola after Hurricane Irma.

In May 2018 the Immigration Department of the British Virgin Islands announced that the population of the Territory has dropped by approximately 11% since Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck the previous year. [4]

Insurance

Soper's Hole, West End, Tortola after Hurricane Irma. Sopers Hole Marina Tortola after Hurricane Irma.jpg
Soper's Hole, West End, Tortola after Hurricane Irma.

Recovery and rebuilding efforts in the Territory were hampered by low levels of insurance coverage. The Government itself had a policy of "self-insurance", and other than the Central Administration Complex, virtually none of its buildings or vehicles were insured. [43] [44] [45]

Private homeowners also have relatively low levels of hurricane insurance. In previous natural disasters the Government has provided emergency assistance to residents, providing funding for repairs to homes that are uninsured. This created a moral hazard in that only uninsured homes were eligible for Government assistance, and incentivised lower income property owners to be underinsured or completely uninsured. [46]

To assist insured homeowners, the Government formed a temporary dedicated Insurance Tribunal to hear and determine insurance claims. [47]

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References

  1. ↑ "British Virgin Islands financial centre hit hard by Irma". Financial Times . 10 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "British Virgin Islands tourism showing signs of recovery after Hurricane Irma". The Guardian . 30 January 2018. It sounds like an exaggeration but when Hurricane Irma knocked out the British Virgin Islands (BVI) on 6 September 2017 the winds did reach 215mph – faster still inside the tornadoes spinning on the edge of the storm's eye. Irma was the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever to strike land and it ran an almost straight course through the whole island chain. Aside from one, outlying Anegada, all the islands were hit with Irma's worst: trees weren't just stripped of leaves but their bark, too. Irma left 85% of buildings destroyed or severely damaged and infrastructure on the main island, Tortola, was smashed.
  3. ↑ Eliza Mackintosh and Donie O'Sullivan (12 September 2017). "Don't forget about us: Irma's desperate Caribbean survivors". CNN.
  4. 1 2 "BVI's population drops by 4,000". BVI News. 25 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Governor declares State of Emergency; says fatalities reported". BVI News. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  6. ↑ Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007, article 27.
  7. ↑ "Hurricane Irma Rumor FAQ". Snopes. 9 September 2017.
  8. ↑ "Twitter: @ericblake12". Twitter.com. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  9. ↑ "HURRICANE WARNING ISSUED FOR THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS". BVI Department of Disaster Management. 4 September 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 Angela Burnett (2017). "1". The Irma Diaries (PDF). Amazon Digital Services LLC. ASIN   B0781C47PT.
  11. ↑ "First 24 hours of destruction as Hurricane Irma tears through Atlantic". The Daily Telegraph . 7 September 2017.
  12. ↑ "Hurricane Irm's path of destruction retraced". NBC News. 14 September 2017.
  13. ↑ "Hurricane Irma has become so strong it's showing up on seismometers used to measure earthquakes". The Independent . 5 September 2017.
  14. ↑ Angela Burnett (2017). The Irma Diaries. Amazon Digital Services LLC. ASIN   B0781C47PT.
  15. 1 2 "DDM pleads for approximately $200K". Virgin Islands News Online. 23 May 2018.
  16. 1 2 "Hurricane Irma Situation Report - 001" (PDF). BVI Department of Disaster Management. 9 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "All 4 casualties of Hurricane Irma now identified". BVI News. 9 October 2017.
  18. ↑ "Kyron McMaster wins the British Virgins Islands' first ever medal in perfect tribute to late coach". Herald Sun . 12 April 2018.
  19. ↑ "VI records abnormally high death rate last year". Virgin Islands News Online. 8 June 2018.
  20. ↑ Kathryn Hansen (11 September 2017). "Hurricane Irma Turns Caribbean Islands Brown". NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  21. ↑ "Paradise lost: Tortola seeks UK aid after Irma". Sky News. 14 September 2017.
  22. ↑ "Boris Johnson reminded of Hiroshima on visit to Irma-hit Tortola". Sky News. 14 September 2017.
  23. ↑ Joe, Chapman (3 December 2020). "A Conversation with Guy Spier". The Education of a Value Investor. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  24. ↑ "4,240 houses reported damaged or destroyed in BVI". BVI News. 3 October 2017.
  25. 1 2 Colin Riegels (17 September 2017). "Life lessons from Hurricane Irma". LinkedIn Pulse.
  26. ↑ "Full electricity restoration could take 6 months". BVI News. 12 September 2017.
  27. ↑ "98% of electricity now restored in BVI". BVI News. 21 February 2018. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  28. ↑ Angela Burnett (2017). "Preface". The Irma Diaries. Amazon Digital Services LLC. ASIN   B0781C47PT.
  29. 1 2 3 "Hurricane Irma Situation Report - 002" (PDF). BVI Department of Disaster Management. 16 September 2017.
  30. ↑ "UK sends 14 Prison Officers to Her Majesty's Prison @ Balsam Ghut!". Virgin Islands News Online. 9 March 2018.
  31. ↑ "Classes for ESHS students begin in Pasea Estate". Virgin Islands News Online. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  32. ↑ "'My child is not a Guinea pig'- Parent of ESHS student". Virgin Islands News Online. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  33. ↑ "Eight arrested as BVI Police enforce zero tolerance looting policy". Virgin Islands Daily News . 22 September 2017.
  34. ↑ "Hurricane Irma: UK troops and police called in to halt looting on British Virgin Islands". Daily Express . 10 September 2017.
  35. ↑ "Caribbean in chaos as Irma brings floods to Florida Keys – as it happened". The Guardian . 12 September 2017.
  36. ↑ Farmer, Ben; Swinford, Steven (8 September 2017). "British response to Hurricane Irma 'found wanting', senior MPs say, as Royal Navy arrives in Caribbean". The Telegraph– via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  37. ↑ "Caribbean in chaos as Irma brings floods to Florida Keys – as it happened". The Guardian . 12 September 2017.
  38. ↑ Hilary Clarke and Samantha Beech (12 September 2017). "European leaders step up Irma relief effort in Caribbean". CNN.
  39. ↑ "State of Emergency ends midnight, curfew to continue". Virgin Islands News Online. 5 October 2017.
  40. ↑ "Regional Overview:Impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria" (PDF). 2 November 2017.
  41. ↑ "Economy 'bust'? Layoffs continue following Hurricane Irma". Virgin Islands News Online. 4 October 2017.
  42. ↑ "2018 Budget Address". Government of the Virgin Islands. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  43. ↑ "Nagico pays $11 million to government for CAB". BVI Beacon. 27 April 2018. No other central-government buildings were insured, and only "elements of" certain statutory bodies, including the BVI Electricity Corporation, the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, and the BVI Ports Authority, also had insurance, according Brodrick Penn, the chairman of the Disaster Recovery Coordination Committee. ... Government cars aren't likely to add much to that total: At a House of Assembly sitting in November, Dr. Smith noted that most public sector vehicles were "self-insured" by central government
  44. ↑ "Virgin Gorda Gov't Complex was not insured—Premier Smith". Virgin Islands News Online. 10 August 2018.
  45. ↑ "Millions Lost on ESHS Expansion; Buildings Were Not Insured". BVI Platinum. 17 September 2018. According to Hon. Walwyn, "The government was not compensated for any money paid out on this project because these buildings, like most government assets, were not insured".
  46. ↑ "Housing Recovery Assistance Programme". Government of the Virgin Islands. Retrieved 7 June 2018. To be eligible to obtain housing assistance, applicants must be uninsured or underinsured owners of residential property
  47. ↑ "Gov't implements Insurance Tribunal for aggrieved residents". BVI News. 15 January 2018.
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Irma 2017-09-06 1745Z.jpg
Hurricane Irma over the British Virgin Islands on 6 September
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