Effects of Hurricane Irma in the Lesser Antilles

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Operational Land Imager imagery by Landsat 8 of the Virgin Islands from before and after Hurricane Irma's impact, depicting a "browning" of the landscape and vegetation. Hurricane Irma turns Virgin Islands brown.jpg
Operational Land Imager imagery by Landsat 8 of the Virgin Islands from before and after Hurricane Irma's impact, depicting a "browning" of the landscape and vegetation.

Damage in the British Virgin Islands was extensive. Numerous buildings and roads were destroyed on the island of Tortola, which bore the brunt of the hurricane's core. Four people were confirmed dead. [12] Along Cane Garden Bay, the storm surge submerged several seaside bars and a gas station. Satellite images revealed many of the island's residential zones had been left in ruins. [40] The hurricane passed over Necker Island, also causing severe damage and destroying the mansion of Richard Branson. [43]

Most homes and businesses were destroyed on the island of Jost Van Dyke, the smallest of the B.V.I.'s four main islands. [44] The Governor, Gus Jaspert, who had only been sworn into office 13 days previously, declared a state of emergency - the first time this has ever happened in the Territory. [45] After the storm, restoration of electricity took approximately 5 months. [46]

U.S. Virgin Islands

U.S. Navy video of damage in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Irma's effects in the U.S. Virgin Islands were most profound on Saint Thomas, where at least 12 inches (300 mm) of rain fell, and on Saint John. Saint Thomas island suffered widespread structural damage, including to its police station and airport. Patients from the fourth and third floors of Charlotte Amalie's hospital had to be relocated to lower floors due to flooding from roof leaks. Three deaths were attributed to Irma on the island. On nearby Saint Croix, there were communication issues and some damage to the infrastructure. [40] Saint John lost access to ferry and cargo services, along with access to the local airport. Due to its normal reliance on electricity from Saint Thomas, the island was left without power. [47] [48] [49] [50] Total damage from the three islands was at least $1.1 billion.

Rest of the Lesser Antilles

Large swells ahead of Irma washed ashore debris and sea life in Castries, Saint Lucia, blocking some roads. Seaside roads were inundated with water. [51] One surfer was killed amid rough surf in Barbados after hitting a reef and breaking his neck. Trees were also destroyed. [52] The hurricane's effects, such as violent seas and rattling trees, were intense enough to be detected by seismographs in Guadeloupe. Several houses were damaged. [53] Around 8,000 households and a water supply network on that island lost power during the storm, leaving several communes in the dark without running water. Overall damage was limited to external parts of houses and trees that were blown onto roads and three unmanned ships wrecked by rough seas. [8]

Saint Kitts and Nevis endured similar conditions to other islands. Blustery rainstorms triggered scattered power outages and disabled the island's water system, but per the International Red Cross, the islands were spared the level of destruction seen elsewhere. [54] Still, Prime Minister Timothy Harris stated that property and infrastructure had sustained "significant damage." [55] The Dutch territories of Saba and Sint Eustatius were also struck by the hurricane's winds, resulting in infrastructural damage, water shortages and telecommunication outages. [40] [56] Several houses were left uninhabitable. On Saba, the hurricane also defoliated trees and injured a few people. [40] [56] CEDIM's analysts expect economic losses of $20–65 million for the two islands. [20]

Aftermath

Antigua and Barbuda

In response to Hurricane Jose's approach, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda issued a mandatory evacuation on September 9 for any remaining residents on Barbuda. A Miami cargo plane landed on Antigua later that day, carrying over 60 tons (120,000 lbs) of relief supplies for the displaced storm victims—including bottled water, canned food and power generators. [57]

British Overseas Territories

A UK Royal Logistics Corp landing raft delivers emergency relief to Anguilla UK Royal Logistics Corps Mexflote arrives in Anguilla.jpg
A UK Royal Logistics Corp landing raft delivers emergency relief to Anguilla

RFA Mounts Bay stationed itself near Anguilla and provided support and relief work to the island with its helicopters and 40 marines and army engineers. [58] The ship delivered 6 tonnes of emergency aid to Anguilla and army engineers repaired a fuel leak at Anguilla's main petrol dump, restored power to the island's hospital and provided shelters for those left homeless by the hurricane. [59] [60] The ship arrived in the British Virgin Islands on September 8, 2017, to provide emergency relief to the islands, including providing shelters, food and water. [59] HMS Ocean was diverted from the Mediterranean to provide relief from Gibraltar to the affected British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos on September 7, [61] and aid was also supplied by the Department for International Development from their disaster response center at Kemble Airfield. As part of a £32 million operation named Operation Ruman, nearly 500 UK military personnel with emergency relief were dispatched from RAF Brize Norton. [62] This included the first deployment of No. 38 Expeditionary Air Wing with three RAF aircraft: two Airbus A400M Atlas and one C-130J Hercules to support relief efforts.

The British government also drafted two members of the UK police cadre into the region on September 10, and 53 police officers were drafted from RAF Brize Norton to the affected British Overseas Territories on September 15 to help maintain order. [63] [64] UK politicians, including the chairs of the foreign affairs and development select committees, criticized both the government's preparations for the storm and its response as inadequate. [65] [66]

Royal Marines delivering aid and providing support to the islanders of Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands Royal Marines deliver aid to British Virgin Islands following Irma.jpg
Royal Marines delivering aid and providing support to the islanders of Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

By September 15, the United Kingdom had over 70 military personnel and 4 police officers in Anguilla and had delivered 15 tonnes of aid to the island. [67] In the British Virgin Islands, Royal Marines had cleared the airfield so that it was operational for the delivery of aid into the islands, with more than 200 British military personnel and 54 UK police officers on the ground and 8 tonnes of aid delivered to the islands. [67] 120 British military personnel were on the ground in Turks and Caicos, and over 150 shelter kits and 720 liters of water were delivered to the islands on September 15. [67]

Amendments to international aid rules by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (or OECD) allowed for the UK government to provide access to £13 billion worth of aid to the affected British Overseas Territories, through the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) by November 2017. [68]

United States territories

In the USVI, residents and tourists alike were described as being in a state of traumatic shock. [69] By September 7, the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship had arrived in the USVI to provide supplies, damage assessment, and evacuation assistance. Four additional warships, some of which had already been on their way to Texas to assist with Hurricane Harvey relief, were redirected to the region. [70] At a September 10 news conference, Governor Kenneth Mapp described Irma as a "horrific disaster" for which "[t]here will be no restorations or solutions in days or weeks."[ citation needed ] The Federal Emergency Management Agency airlifted in goods for residents, who were subjected to a curfew. Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line agreed to transport tourists to Florida, contingent upon port availability following the state's own experience with Irma. [71]

On Saint John, described as "perhaps the site of Irma's worst devastation on American soil,"[ citation needed ] it took six days for an active-theater disaster zone to be established, leading to criticism of the U.S. government response. [72] The National Guard was delayed in reaching Saint John due to the number of overturned boats left in the harbor. [73]

Five months after Irma, two-thirds of the hospital beds on Saint Thomas were still unavailable, due to extensive physical damage and staffing shortages. [74]

Saint Martin and French Overseas Department

Damage to Sint Maarten's harbor and to Princess Juliana International Airport left the Dutch part of Saint Martin unreachable, although the smaller Grand Case-Espérance Airport on the French side could be reopened by September 7 for supply aid by helicopter and airplane. [75] The French armed forces based in Guadeloupe and French Guiana flew equipment and troops on board a CASA/IPTN CN-235 aircraft.

The following day, the Dutch military was able to airlift dialysis patients off the island while also dropping leaflets to warn islanders about the rapidly approaching Hurricane Jose. [76] Although the airport was closed, 435 students and faculty of the American University of the Caribbean were evacuated by the U.S. military. [77] On September 10, Dutch King Willem-Alexander departed for the region, with intentions to visit Sint Maarten and other affected Dutch territories and commonwealth members. [78]

French President Emmanuel Macron followed this announcement by stating his intentions to visit the French part of the island on September 12 in order to bring aid supplies. In response to criticism of the French handling of the disaster, 1,000 troops, police, and other emergency workers were sent to Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy. [79]

On both sides of Saint Martin, desperate conditions combined with food and water shortages in Irma's aftermath led to reports of violence, scavenging, and theft. In response, the French government increased its troop deployment to 2,200 and the Dutch government sent more than 600 military and police personnel. [65] [80]

The day after the hurricane hit Saint Barthelemy the French armed forces based in Guadeloupe and French Guiana flew equipment and troops into the reopened Grand Case-Espérance Airport. On September 7 and 9, equipment and personnel were flown from France to Guadeloupe and Martinique. [81]

Notes

  1. ↑ Storms with quotations are officially unnamed. Tropical storms and hurricanes were not named before the year 1950. [31]

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References

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Hurricane Irma
Irma 2017-09-06 1115Z.jpg
Hurricane Irma at its peak intensity while making landfall in Saint Martin early on September 6