Irma: “horror scene” in the Caribbean, the dominican Republic threatened

News 7 September, 2017

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AFP

Thursday, September 7, 2017 06:13

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Thursday, September 7, 2017 06:19

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“Scene of horror”, “nightmare”, “apocalyptic landscape”: the rescue began Thursday in the caribbean islands of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy, totally ravaged by Irma, a hurricane of violence that is unprecedented, which has killed nine people and threatens now the dominican Republic.

The cyclone monster has “eight dead and 21 injured” in the French part of the island, Dutch-French St. Martin, according to rescue the French.

A ninth death has been recorded on the neighbouring island of Barbuda, 1600 inhabitants, “totally devastated,” according to Gaston Browne, the Prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, independent territory.

#Etc hurricane #Irma. 95% of the island is destroyed. Courage 👊 pic.twitter.com/hc7xLXai9j

— arnaud jose (@jose_arnaud) September 7, 2017

On the Dutch side of St. Martin, there are no reports of any death, but the hurricane has done “huge damage”, including the airport and port, making the island “cut off from the world”, according to the Dutch Prime minister Mark Rutte.

Irma has left a real dump with open sky in the northern Antilles, especially on Saint-Martin, “destroyed 95%” which is on the French side, according to the president of the territorial council French, Daniel Gibbs.On this island of some 70,000 residents, witnesses evoke an “apocalyptic landscape”. “We were facing a phenomenon of unprecedented scale,” said a journalist overseas 1st, Steve Careful. “Anything that did not have a minimum of solidity no longer exists”, he added. “It’s a nightmare,” said another journalist from Guadeloupe 1ere.

“Mountains of debris littering the streets. We don’t have electricity or gasoline, has made a statement to the television station RTL Paul Windt, head of the local daily newspaper the Daily Herald on the Dutch side of St. Martin.

Saint Barthelemy, French island nearby with a population of 10,000, “everything is broken. It is terrible, it is a scene of horror”, was told on the phone on BFMTV Kevin.

Photo AFP

“Mass destruction”

“The destruction is massive,” acknowledged Thursday the French Interior minister Gérard Collomb, while the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced that he would “as soon as possible” in the affected areas.

“In the most remote corners, you can always find a number of victims”, warned Mr. Collomb.

“The situation is dramatic,” said the prefect of Guadeloupe Eric Mayor. The two islands are without potable water, without electricity, the public buildings unusable, houses destroyed, trees uprooted and the emergency services themselves devastated.

The French minister of overseas, Annick Girardin, arrived Thursday morning on the French island of Guadeloupe – of which depends administratively Saint-Martin – with “reinforcement of human and material resources” of nearly two hundred relief personnel, military, fire fighters, doctors…

“We are past the phase of consideration in one phase of action”, summarized Mr. Collomb, in asserting that the efforts “for the next few hours” would be on the supply of water and food, including “100 000 combat rations”, “for people to continue to feed”.

An air-bridge should be put in place as early as this Thursday, between Saint Martin and Guadeloupe, according to Mrs. Girardin, who also announced the shipment by sea for reinforcements and supplies, water and emergency equipment.

Photo AFP

Evacuations in the Republic domicaine

Irma, hurricane category 5, has brushed against in the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the north coast of the u.s. territory of Puerto Rico, moving at the speed of 26 km/h towards the west and the dominican Republic.

“We would have said that there were ghosts among me”, testified Blanca Santiago, an employee at a hotel in the capital, San Juan.

In the dominican Republic, the government has ordered the first evacuations in coastal areas, even if the eye of the cyclone should a priori not touch the island according to the Office of the national weather.

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According to the National hurricane center (NHC) in the u.s., Irma should then move towards Cuba and then Florida, that he should touch at the very end of the week.

The us president, Donald Trump has placed the u.s. Virgin islands, Puerto Rico and Florida in a state of alert. The evacuation of the florida Keys, chain of islands in the extreme south of the State, has been ordered. The state of alert has been declared in Cuba.

In Haiti, the inhabitants of the north of the island seemed to them to learn the arrival of the hurricane at the option of the conversations. “No authority has come to tell us anything”, infuriated Joshua Rosse.

Irma “is already a hurricane history”, according to Météo-France. It is more powerful than Harvey, who has made 42 dead at least and ravaged Texas and Louisiana.

A surfer of 16 years who wanted to enjoy the waves well-formed on the coast of the island of Barbados, quite far from the passage of Irma, died on Wednesday.