5/8/2023 0 Comments Maria hurricane track![]() ![]() Officials in Guadeloupe predicted severe flooding in low-lying areas and urged residents to move to higher ground.īut in the island’s capital Pointe-a-Pitre, local official Josette Borel-Lincertin said authorities had ample experience of preparing for hurricanes. ![]() The island was among the worst hit by Irma, with 14 killed. Hurricane Maria is due to sweep over the south of Sint Maarten – as the Dutch side of St Martin is called – on Tuesday. The Dutch navy tweeted that troops were heading to the two tiny islands to ensure security following widespread complaints of looting and lawlessness on St Martin after the first hurricane.įrench Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said 110 more soldiers would be deployed to the region to reinforce about 3,000 people already there shoring up security, rebuilding infrastructure and distributing aid.īut he warned that “we will have major difficulties” if Guadeloupe is hard hit, noting the territory was “the logistical centre from where we could supply St Martin and organise all the airlifts”.ĭutch ships Zeeland and Pelikaan, which have been ferrying humanitarian goods from Curacao in recent days, have been grounded on the Dutch island for safety until Maria passes, the navy said on Facebook. On the neighboring Dutch islands of Saba and St Eustatius, the Red Cross was handing out tarpaulins to people left homeless by Irma, with little to protect themselves from torrential rain and fierce winds. On the island of St Martin, which is split between France and the Netherlands, the Red Cross flew in 11 tons of aid from the Dutch mainland on Sunday, including urgently needed materials to replace roofs ripped off by Irma. ![]() Up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain could drench the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands through Wednesday night – conditions that could cause life-threatening floods and mudslides.ĭominica, St Kitts and Nevis and the British island of Montserrat are also on alert.Ĭriticized for the pace of relief efforts in their overseas territories devastated by Irma, Britain, France and the Netherlands said they were boosting resources for the Caribbean as Maria approaches. Maria could produce a “dangerous storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves” that would raise water levels by four to six feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters), it said. The NHC warned the hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 193 kilometers (120 miles) an hour, would strengthen further over the next two days. Each island has a population of around 400,000 people. Schools, businesses and government offices have been ordered shut in Guadeloupe, where Maria was due to make landfall around midday (1600 GMT). Islanders on neighboring Martinique, which is also part of France, have been ordered to stay indoors as a maximum-level “violet” alert went into force. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the “major hurricane” had intensified to Category 3 as it approached the French territory of Guadeloupe, the base for relief operations for several islands devastated by Irma this month. GUADELOUPE, France (4th UPDATE) – Hurricane Maria strengthened rapidly on Monday, September 18, as it blasted towards the eastern Caribbean, forcing exhausted islanders – still recovering from megastorm Irma – to brace for the worst again. ![]()
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