On September 6, 2017, hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean island of St. Maarten / St. Martin as a category 5 hurricane with sustained wind-speeds of 185mph and gusts up to 225mph when it made landfall. The destructive force of hurricane Irma has disabled power, communications, water, Internet, radio, and mobile phone service across 95–99% of the island. For live updates you can tune into http://laser101.fm, as curfews are in effect, and there have been reports of looting.

Dutch Marines and French military have arrived on the island.

All US Citizens who are in St. Maarten need to register at http://travel.state.gov, click on Irma and go to Task Force. There are plans in place to safely evacuate all American citizens from the island. If you have an American loved one on the island please register them incase they do not have Internet access.

Cole Bay and Simpson Bay

Over 870 people have been reported missing according to IrmaTracker.com between the Dutch and French sides of the island with only 298 people reported as safe. Although no causalities have been announced yet, most of the island is either flooded, or covered in debris preventing any serious search and rescue. Many people are likely in shelters but are unable to communicate with the outside world. Meanwhile, only 5 of the 10 shelters on the island are still operational. We’ve been able to confirm the hospital on the Dutch side is still open, as is the shelter at AUC St. Maarten Medical School in Cupecoy both of which are staffed with doctors.

Sint Maarten Medical Center

I personally have many connections to St. Maarten, as my Mother has a place on the island. Luckily, we were able to evacuate her before the hurricane hit. With that said, many of her friends and colleagues are still on the island, and missing. Remarkably one of my Mother’s colleagues, Martha J. Marsden, has been able to get limited data access via her mobile phone to provide us with videos, images, and updates.

Due to Martha’s heroic efforts we’ve been able to locate many of our friends on the island as well as provide the world with a glimpse of the destruction seen in the videos above. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and I will update this article as more information comes in.

At this point, most of St. Maarten is uninhabitable, and many people will be in need of food, water, and supplies soon.

Our thoughts are with the people of St. Maarten.

All photos and video credit of Martha J. Marsden from http://whatshappeningsxm.com and posted with her permission.