Hurricane Irma and the response to it

Background
The Caribbean is known for it's cyclones and hurricanes. It has, and always will be planning to survive such an event. Hurricane Irma was the worst ever as of September 2017.

Barbuda, like many of the smaller Caribbean islands, is a coral island rising a mere 125 feet (38 meters) above sea level and is thus more vunrible to any exstreem weather events that hit it, unlike the bigger islands like Jamacia and Cuba.

All the islands it hit and the US state of Florida had ordered either mandatory evacuations to safer land and\or the usual boarding up of windows and stockpiling of supplies such as medicine, food, water, batteries and so forth.

On Barbuda, authorities ordered an evacuation of all 1,400 people to neighboring Antigua the day befor the storm hit.

The French had an emergency generator and equipment on the island awaiting such useage, while the Dutch had nothing on the island of St Martin. The British, independent and America,islands were prepared as best they were. Cuba was well known for it's historic storm evacuation and recovery planing.

The hurricane it's self
Hurricane Irma was the most powerful hurricane ever to hit the Atlantic

It generally got windy as a whole from southern florida to Martineq inclusive on the 5th and 6th.

Record wings were reported often, with Cuba reporting record wind speeds of between 185 mph and 159 mph (256 kph), and 185 mph were reported in the the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico St Martin and St. Maarten. Barbuda was hit by winds between 157 mph (252 kph) and 295 km/h (185 mph). The Bahamas were hit by winds speeds of 150mph. 130mph winds hit the Florida Keys and 120mph in south Florida. It was about 30 miles wide. The hurricane hit across most of the region devastating buildings, transportation, utilities and national infrastructure.

A 20 foot storm surge wave hit all areas north of and including the island of Saint Martin. It penetrated low lying parts of Cuba for up to half of a kilometer in land with 23 foot waves.

The Cuban government has extended its maximum state of alert to three additional provinces, including Havana, amid fears of flooding in low-lying areas late on September 9th.

It first emerged as a tropical low over the island of Ilha Formosa of the coast of Guinea Bissau on August 27th and became noteworthy as it went out to sea on the 28th.

An overview of the damage, deaths and injuries it caused

 *  Officially death toll estimates were: 22 by 2.00pm UTC on the 8th (The Denver Post) 21 by 2.00pm UTC on the 9th (CBS) and 19 at 10.00pm UTC on September 9th (Channels24 Television). At least 9 people dead, 7 missing and 112 injured on the French Caribbean islands of St. Martin and St. Barts by the 10th according to French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb. 


 * 1) Indipendent nations:
 * 2) Dominican Republic- Low destruction levels and 600,000 with out electircity. Most phones were out of use it he places hit by the power blackouts. 2(?) dead.
 * 3) Bahamas- moderate damage in the southern islands.
 * 4) Dominica,
 * 5) St Kitts and Nevis- Heavy damage.
 * 6) Haiti- Negligible destruction levels levels. 1(?) dead.
 * 7) St Vincent and The Grenadines- Moderate damage destruction.
 * 8) St Lucia- Low destruction.
 * 9) Barbados- Minimal damage. The 16 year old surfer Zander Venezia was killed riding wave during Hurricane Irma in a shallow reef at a popular, but difficult to master surfing beach called Box by Box on September 5th.
 * 10) Cuba- Healy damaged and sometimes heavy costal floods. 900,000 without power. Water outages were in many places. 1 (?) or 2(?) deaths.
 * 11) Jamaica- Negligible destruction levels levels.
 * 12) Antigua and Barbuda- Antigua ~90% damage, Barbuda ~95% damage. 1 dead on each island.
 * UK:
 * 1) Cayman Islands- Negligible destruction levels levels.
 * 2) Montserrat- Heavy damage. 14(c) dead.
 * 3) Turks and Caicos Islands- 14(c) dead.
 * 4) Anguilla- 100% destruction. 14(c) dead.
 * 5) British Virgin Islands- ~95% destruction. 14(c) or 5 dead. Internet, water, phones and electricity are minamal.
 * 6) France:
 * 7) St Martin- ~95% destruction, 8(a), 19(b), 10 (d), or 2 dead.
 * 8) St Barthelemy- 100% destruction 8(a) 19(b)
 * 9) St Thomas- 95% damage 19(b) dead.
 * 10) Guadeloupe- Heavy damage. 19(b) dead.
 * 11) Martinique- Heavy damage. 19(b) dead.
 * 12) Netherlands:
 * 13) St Maarten- ~90% destruction, 45 dead or 10 (d).
 * 14) Bonaire/St Eustatius/Saba- Negligible destruction levels levels.
 * 15) Aruba- Negligible destruction levels levels.
 * USA:
 * 1) US Virgin Islands ~90% destruction and 2(?) dead.
 * 2) Porto Rico- Low destruction levels. ~2,000,000 without electricity and many phone lines were downed. 5(?) dead.
 * 3) Florida
 * 4) The Florida Keys- 2 dead. 100,000 without power.
 * 5) The Florida Peninsula- 1 dead. 100,000,000 without power.
 * 6) The Florida Panhandle- N\A
 * 7) Georgia
 * 8) Alabama
 * 9) S. Carolina
 * (a)= A combined, pan-colony official death toll on September 8th.
 * (b)= A combined, pan-colony official death toll on September 9th.
 * (c)= A combined, pan-colony official death toll on September 9th.
 * (d)= A combined, pan-colony official death toll on September 9th.

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda
.

The US and British Virgin Islands
Both groups of islands were devastated.

Looting and gunshots were reported on St. Martin, and a precautionary curfew was imposed in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) declared a state of emergency and governor Gus Jaspert asked the UK for help on September 9th.

St. Bartholomew and St. Thomas
.

St. Martin\St. Maarten
The island is historically split in half between the north, which is a French collectivity (territory), and the south which is a part of the Netherlands proper. The French allready had some emergency generators and rescue equipment on the island awaiting such useage, while the Dutch had nothing.

A 20 foot storm surge wave hit all areas north of and including the island of Saint Martin.

The Dutch side's airport is only open to occasional light aircraft and helicopters, the French half's airport is only open to helicopters and thire desalination plant is back in operation.

The Dutch abandoned thire half until troops were sent in on the 7th after starving crowd went out looting for survival, followed by the inevitable general breakdown of law and order. This general lawlessness and looting of high-end consumer goods and up-market sofas spread to the French half, so the governor called in specialist police from the French mainland to back up the local police units and help defend arriving French aid workers. A curfew and martial law were declared in both haves during the 8th and 9th to quell the looting and rioting.

200 Dutch troops were sent to St. Maarten on the 9th to wipe out looters and food rioters on the 9th.

3 gendarmery squads, 3 police mobile unit landed on the French half of the island with building materials, tents, food, medication and water between the 9th and 12th.

Cuba
Healy damaged and sometimes heavy coastal floods. Havana largely flooded and being ruins in places and several laces healy flooded. 900,000 were without power. Water outages were in many places.

A major tidel surge wave hit Cuba. It penetrated low lying parts of Cuba for up to half of a kilometer in land with 23 foot waves.

The Cuban government had extended its maximum state of alert to three additional provinces, including Havana, amid fears of flooding in low-lying areas late on September 9th.

Losses in general
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chief, Brock Long, offered some advice for people in the path of Hurricane Irma who've been ordered to evacuate on the 9th and 10th of September.

3m had evacuated by the 7th, 6.3m Floridians had evacuated by the 9th and 3.9m had evacuated by the 10th. Many staty behinde, especialy in the southern citys and the Florida Keys. Some stay behindes are British ex-pats and tourists who don't or won't get what the fuss is about (twits).

600,000 lost power in southern Florida on the 9th and this had increased to 1,000,000 by the 10th.

2 blokes died on September 10th after high winds caused thire pickup truck to crash in the Florida Keys early on September 10th, this was followed by a Miami-Dade Sherif's Deputy, who was killed by 2.00pm UTC and a crane had collapse on to a Miami office block by 3.00pm UTC. The crain was unmanned and the office was safly evacuated.

Heavy rain and winds of up to 150mph with the Florida Keys and the winds spread to Naples and St Petersburg in Frorida late on September 9th. It then spread with 120 to 130 mph winds to  the rest of St. Peatersburg and Collier couties by1.00am UTC on September 10th, Miami-Dade by 3.00pm UTC and Monroe Counties later in the day. It later Browland and Brevard counties were hit by 6.15pm UTC. Orlando was hit by 8.00pm UTC.

Florida's insurance costs
It was estimated on September 9th that Florida Insurers were facing a $200,000,000,000 bill.

UK's response to Hurricane Irma
France and the UK pleged to send substanial aid packages to the region and it began ariving on September 8th.


 *  The UK's aid package included: 
 * 1) 200 shelter kits, each able to support a family of 5.
 * 2) HMS Ocean
 * 3) RFA Mounts Bay
 * 4) 40 Royal Marines and Army Engineers on board tasked with restoring clean water, sanitation, temporary shelter and if required, medical assistance and rebuilding Anguilla's airport.
 * 5) The UK charity, MapAction, sent a 2 person Disaster Mapping Team to the Caribbean to support mapping and information management on site.
 * 6) The British Red Cross and the ICRC sent rescue workers to the islands involved.
 * 7) 2 C17 cargo planes and a Voyager cargo plane, were flying from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, carrying around 200 Royal Marines, engineers, 2 Puma helicopters and life-saving equipment.
 * 8) £32 million on September 9th, up from £12 million on September 8th.

..

Several cruise lines to help evacuate Irma-ravaged St. Thomas on September 9th.

The British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said the UK’s response was “very good”.

The British print media rediculed it as to little to late.

French aid program
French President Emmanuel Macron called an emergency meeting at the Elysée Palace on September 9th to organised an aid programmer for St. Bartholomew and the Franco-Dutch isle of St. Martin, both devastated by Hurricane Irma. Around 3,000 packs of emergency military rations were sent by the 10th and 100,000 arrived on the 11th.

least 9 people dead, 7 missing and 112 injured on the French Caribbean islands of St. Martin and St. Barts by the 10th according to French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb.

Some French politicians criticised it's response as to little and to late on the 10th.

Others
Colombia, Panama, Jamaica, Belgian, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Japan, Norway, Canada and Mexico the reportedly send some minor aid supplies on the 8th.

Aid agencies including, Shelterbox, set up supply depots and HQs in Panama on the 10th.

Tourist evacuations
Cruse lines evacuated thire clients and some other tourists on September 6th and 7th, depending on location.

The USA and Canada sent aircraft in to rescue thire nationals between September 4th and 7th, depending on location. Sadly, the commercial flights from USA, in particular Florida, horrendously price gouged thire passengers!

Several cruise lines to help evacuate Irma-ravaged St. Thomas on September 9th

Thomas Cook, which was still suffering from an ongoing pilots' pay strike that started on September 7th, sent some reps to Cuba on the 9th to tell it's clients it had no intention of holding an evacuation, even if the strike was going to stop.

2,500 Thomas Cook passengers, had to travel 8 hours in 11 coaches from the resort of Cayo Coco to the town of Varadero on the 9th after things got to dangerous. When the tourist complained, they accused the Cubans of giving them bad advice.9,000 of thire pasingers were also abandoned in Florida and left to fend for them selves, all be it with help from the local Americans.

Price gouging
The USA and Canada sent aircraft in to rescue thire nationals between September 4th and 7th, depending on location. Sadly, the commercial flights from USA, in particular Florida, horrendously price gouged thire passengers!

Hurricane Irma related price gouging reports rose to over 3,000 cases on September 9th on the Florida price gouging hotline.

States of emergency
Antigua and Barbuda's PM, Gaston Browne, declared a state of emergency asked the world for help on September 7th.

Anguilla, declared a state of emergency asked the world for help on September 7th.

Martial law were declared in both haves of the island of St Martin during the 8th and 9th to quell the looting and rioting.

A precautionary curfew was imposed in the U.S. Virgin Islands on the 9th.

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) declared a state of emergency and governor Gus Jaspert asked the UK for help on September 9th.

The governor of Florida and the Mayor of Miami gratuitously declared a curfew in the city starting at 20.00 on September 9th, local time.

Florida sadly slipped in to a growing state state of emergency between September 4th and 8th as more counties were deemed to be at risk. Southern Georgia and the coastal parts of Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas were put under a state of emergency on the 8th.

Quotes
“I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to know that further damage is imminent.” said Inspector Frankie Thomas of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda on the 8th in reference to Hurricane Jose's arrival on the 9th.

Sharon Flax-Brutus, director of tourism for the islands, said “many homes are without roofs, or have been diminished to merely foundations”.

“It has now stopped raining, but all night there was a terrible wind.” said, Gisela Fernandez, a 42-year-old nurse in central Villa Clara province told a AFP reporter.

The governor of the central Camaguey province, Isabel Gonzalez, went on national television, late on September 9th, to warn people of “major damage.” without giving further details on the 9th.

Stephen Twigg said: “Experts and many in the area have been critical of the overall level of relief currently on offer as well as the apparent lack of forward-thinking once the storm’s route to Florida became more than just a possibility.”

Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, criticised the speed of the Government’s response to the growing crisis in their dependencies (colony with a large degree of home rule) after Hurricane Irma on the 8th. He said the impact of Hurricane Irma on the Caribbean was “entirely predictable” and the British government “should have acted much faster”.

The long term consequences
.

Political fall out
The Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs committee and international development committee head, and Labour MP Stephen Twigg wrote to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Development Secretary Priti Patel on the 8th criticising the “lack of forward thinking”.

Stephen Twigg said: “Experts and many in the area have been critical of the overall level of relief currently on offer as well as the apparent lack of forward-thinking once the storm’s route to Florida became more than just a possibility.”

Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, criticised the speed of the Government’s response to the growing crisis in their dependencies (colony with a large degree of home rule) after Hurricane Irma on the 8th. He said the impact of Hurricane Irma on the Caribbean was “entirely predictable” and the British government “should have acted much faster”.

Some French politicians criticised it's responce as to little and to late on the 10th.

UK government phone line

 * The Foreign Office hotline for British or British Dependent Teritory people affected is: 020 7008 0000.