Hurricane Irma destroys ‘95%’ of French part of St Martin: official


Team Udayavani, Sep 7, 2017, 8:48 AM IST

Pointe-a-Pitre : The French part of the Caribbean island St Martin is “95 percent destroyed” after Hurricane Irma tore through the region, top local official Daniel Gibbs has said. “It’s an enormous catastrophe. Ninety-five percent of the island is destroyed. I’m in shock. It’s frightening,” said Gibbs, a former French lawmaker, speaking on Radio Caribbean International yesterday.

The island is in need of emergency assistance, he said. “I have sick people to evacuate, I have a population to evacuate because I don’t know where I can shelter them,” he said. At least six people have been killed in the French part of St Martin, Guadeloupe prefect Eric Maire said. Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, cut a deadly swath through a string of small Caribbean islands yesterday.

The French minister for overseas affairs, Annick Girardin, was to fly to Guadeloupe late yesterday with emergency teams and supplies to assess the situation, the ministry said. “It’s too soon for casualty figures (but) I can already tell you the toll will be harsh and cruel,” French President Macron said, adding that he expected damage on St Barts and St Martin to be “considerable”.

St Martin (“Sint Maarten” in Dutch), located south of the island of Anguilla, is divided between the Netherlands and France. St Barts (“Saint Barthelemy” in French), which lies to the southeast of St Martin, is administered with the status of a French collectivity, as is the French part of St Martin.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Kangana takes ‘demon’ jibe at MVA, says it lost Maharashtra for disrespecting women

Eastern states were considered backward earlier, I view them as India’s growth engine: PM Modi

Chennai Super Kings can use R Ashwin in a number of ways: Stephen Fleming

Two highway robbers shot at in Hubballi during spot inspection

Maharashtra Elections | Eknath Shinde elected as Shiv Sena legislature party leader

Ullal: Auto-rickshaw accident near Konaje claims driver’s life

Congress victory in bypolls not a clean chit to CM in MUDA case: R Ashoka

Related Articles More

COP29: India rejects new USD 300 billion climate finance deal

Royal tour of India in offing for King Charles, Queen Camilla: Report

Indian-American leaders applaud PM Modi for inclusive growth in India

COP29: Civil society protests climate finance proposal, calls for ‘no deal’ over ‘bad deal’

Bomb disposal squad tackles ‘security incident’ at UK’s Gatwick Airport

MUST WATCH

Coconut Flower

Prakash Belawadi

Naxal Leader Vikram Gowda

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar


Latest Additions

Padubidri: 3 km barefoot race ‘Bale Balipuga’ held at Coastal Carnival

Delhi’s air quality improves to ‘poor’, night temperature higher than normal

Will introspect, learn and rebuild NCP (SP) with renewed commitment: Sule

Vikram Gowda Encounter: Naxal rehabilitation and surrender committee reviews site, surveys tribal issues

Sambhal violence: Prohibitory orders issued, outsiders barred from entry till Nov 30

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.