US Virgin Islands wiped out by Hurricane Irma

[Albion my Albion]

http://komonews.com/weather/scotts-...urvivor-on-virgin-islands-tells-terrying-tale

It sounds extremely horrible. There were no non-domestic animals left alive. All the leaves were blown off many many trees.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Those poor people. Hard to imagine such devastation.

 

[GreersElbow]

It's okay though, because Trump wants to push through tax reform.....

It astonishes me how unprepared these islands seem to be, obviously I'm viewing this from a post-hurricane point of view but they are part and parcel of the region. Granted this was the worst one they've had, but how luch worse than the previous?

 

[Dave the OAP]

It's okay though, because Trump wants to push through tax reform.....

It astonishes me how unprepared these islands seem to be, obviously I'm viewing this from a post-hurricane point of view but they are part and parcel of the region. Granted this was the worst one they've had, but how luch worse than the previous?

Having been to a lot of the leeward islands and both the British Virgin Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands, they are extremely poor for 99 % of the population and extremely rich for the 1%. There are some incredibly beautiful places on Tobago and St Lucia which are not really accessible to the locals and have been built on to provide a playground for the tourists.

They haven't the money to be well prepared! If you think it also wiped out Branson's pad completely. Imagine how that had been hurricane proofed! Most towns in the Caribbean have old colonial buildings and the islanders are so reliant on tourism that they spend whatever money they have on hotel complexes, and attractions to bring in the dollar!

Dominican Republic is a good example. We stopped there on a cruise and were bussed across roads that were dirt tracks, full of pot holes and not traversable by anything but military vehicles, to a hotel complex with a fabulous beach and everything laid on for us. we stayed for 8 hours Andrew then taken back to the ship....you walk through the port into a huge shopping area which has some local shops, but mostly the diamond international type shops. Beyond that there was huge pool complex with bars and fast food type restaurants. Yes they provided employment for the locals BUT we spoke to people who got off the ship, went to this complex and got back on the ship. From them, no money went into the local economy and this is one of the problems I have with cruising. Maybe [MENTION=338]smudge[/MENTION] has a view as he is an officer on NCL ships.

Grand Turk is devastated. The people were so friendly and genuinely so. They do regard themselves as British and look to the UK as the mother country, in the same way as St Martin/ St Maarten is regarded as French and Dutch! GT Is poor but the people are very proud of their island and to see pictures of it is really hard to take. We have walked down the main streets and they were bright and colourful and very welcoming. Now there is rubble.

Do you all remember how we all felt after the hurricane ripped through sussex and the destruction of trees and some properties. Imagine the whole of brighton and Hove being levelled, or the sea breaching the walls and flooding the Steine and London road!

We are a very rich country and we should make sure we honour our responsibilities in our former colonies.

 

[Gazwag]

From them, no money went into the local economy and this is one of the problems I have with cruising.

Cruise ships are destroying the whole Caribbean. A big problem is the amount of waste food which is dumped out to sea with has resulting in most of the fish population disappearing from the island coasts.

 

[clippedgull]

Having been to a lot of the leeward islands and both the British Virgin Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands, they are extremely poor for 99 % of the population and extremely rich for the 1%. There are some incredibly beautiful places on Tobago and St Lucia which are not really accessible to the locals and have been built on to provide a playground for the tourists.

They haven't the money to be well prepared! If you think it also wiped out Branson's pad completely. Imagine how that had been hurricane proofed! Most towns in the Caribbean have old colonial buildings and the islanders are so reliant on tourism that they spend whatever money they have on hotel complexes, and attractions to bring in the dollar!

Dominican Republic is a good example. We stopped there on a cruise and were bussed across roads that were dirt tracks, full of pot holes and not traversable by anything but military vehicles, to a hotel complex with a fabulous beach and everything laid on for us. we stayed for 8 hours Andrew then taken back to the ship....you walk through the port into a huge shopping area which has some local shops, but mostly the diamond international type shops. Beyond that there was huge pool complex with bars and fast food type restaurants. Yes they provided employment for the locals BUT we spoke to people who got off the ship, went to this complex and got back on the ship. From them, no money went into the local economy and this is one of the problems I have with cruising. Maybe [MENTION=338]smudge[/MENTION] has a view as he is an officer on NCL ships.

Grand Turk is devastated. The people were so friendly and genuinely so. They do regard themselves as British and look to the UK as the mother country, in the same way as St Martin/ St Maarten is regarded as French and Dutch! GT Is poor but the people are very proud of their island and to see pictures of it is really hard to take. We have walked down the main streets and they were bright and colourful and very welcoming. Now there is rubble.

Do you all remember how we all felt after the hurricane ripped through sussex and the destruction of trees and some properties. Imagine the whole of brighton and Hove being levelled, or the sea breaching the walls and flooding the Steine and London road!

We are a very rich country and we should make sure we honour our responsibilities in our former colonies.

Indeed. Starting with the Queen writing a nice big fat cheque, then the rich who hide their wealth on these impoverished islands.

What sadist in the government sent Boris to create even more misery for these people in their time of need?

 

[nicko31]

Cruise ships are destroying the whole Caribbean. A big problem is the amount of waste food which is dumped out to sea with has resulting in most of the fish population disappearing from the island coasts.

Cruise ships are the scourge of the planet, then they arrive in port and cause local air pollution

 

[looney]

It's okay though, because Trump wants to push through tax reform.....

Because hurricanes are Trumps fault, ok.

 

[ditchy]

I have a friend on British Virgin island Tourtola which is close by . She had her roof ripped off and her furniture and possessions literally sucked out of the property. She has lost the lot. . She lived in a well built deemed safe property.But unfortunately not much can withstand a Catorgory 5 185MPH sustained wind Hurricane , Rich or poor !

Having spoken to her , she was saying that it was frightening and surreal seeing debris flying through the air that contained items such as sofas etc .

 

[looney]

Cruise ships are the scourge of the planet, then they arrive in port and cause local air pollution

Citation needed,

 

[looney]

I have a friend on British Virgin island Tourtola which is close by . She had her roof ripped off and her furniture and possessions literally sucked out of the property. She has lost the lot. . She lived in a well built deemed safe property.But unfortunately not much can withstand a Catorgory 5 185MPH sustained wind Hurricane , Rich or poor !

Having spoken to her , she was saying that it was frightening and surreal seeing debris flying through the air that contained items such as sofas etc .

Talking to a friend in Florida who says the risk is when debris hits roofs at high speeds damaging them/holes then the wind will rip of the roof etc.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

We are a very rich country and we should make sure we honour our responsibilities in our former colonies.

Yes, and we should and we will and we are..

what sticks in the craw a bit is people like these residents of Anguilla having a go at the British government for not sending enough aid, or sending it quick enough, and there's me thinking, well we're going to send $40m or so over, and where does that money come from, UK taxpayers. And what do the residents of Anguilla, a British overseas territory, famously not do? Pay any tax.

So no doubt this is a major disaster and people are suffering and we will of course help, but I wish these people would cool it a bit with the anger and expectations

 

[beorhthelm]

Yes, and we should and we will and we are..

what sticks in the craw a bit is people like these residents of Anguilla having a go at the British government for not sending enough aid, or sending it quick enough,

i dont know how quick they expect a responce to be. the RN had marines clear an airfield on one island and land equipment on a second within a day of the storm passing.

 

[Albion my Albion]

Yes, and we should and we will and we are..

what sticks in the craw a bit is people like these residents of Anguilla having a go at the British government for not sending enough aid, or sending it quick enough, and there's me thinking, well we're going to send $40m or so over, and where does that money come from, UK taxpayers. And what do the residents of Anguilla, a British overseas territory, famously not do? Pay any tax.

So no doubt this is a major disaster and people are suffering and we will of course help, but I wish these people would cool it a bit with the anger and expectations

Take your time. I can wait in the water for help.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

i dont know how quick they expect a responce to be. the RN had marines clear an airfield on one island and land equipment on a second within a day of the storm passing.

http://www.forces.net/news/tri-service/pictures-british-task-force-deployed-caribbean-islands

There are now 1,000 UK military troops operating in the region and more than 40 tonnes of DFID aid is being distributed.

On the Turks and Caicos Islands, a team of Royal Marines and Army Commandos were the first military personnel to reach the British Overseas territory.

Since September 8, the Royal Air Force has flown more than 20 sorties within the Caribbean, moving more than 700 passengers into and around the region and delivering more than 70 tonnes of freight to hurricane-stricken communities.

59 Commando Squadron from 24 Commando Royal Engineers are supporting communities of the British Virgin Islands.

The specialist Commando engineers have restored power, running water, runway lighting and are repairing the perimeter fence at Terrance B, Lettsome International Airport on the island of Tortola.

 

[GreersElbow]

We are a very rich country and we should make sure we honour our responsibilities in our former colonies.

Rightly so, the DR is some where I've had wanted to go for some time. I sincerely hope we redirect our foreign aid here

 

[CHAPPERS]

Yes, and we should and we will and we are..

what sticks in the craw a bit is people like these residents of Anguilla having a go at the British government for not sending enough aid, or sending it quick enough, and there's me thinking, well we're going to send $40m or so over, and where does that money come from, UK taxpayers. And what do the residents of Anguilla, a British overseas territory, famously not do? Pay any tax.

So no doubt this is a major disaster and people are suffering and we will of course help, but I wish these people would cool it a bit with the anger and expectations

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...rma-british-aid-derisory-caribbean-tax-havens

Aid offered by the British government to its hurricane-battered territories in the Caribbean has been dismissed as “derisory” by a former attorney general of one of the worst-hit islands.

Rupert Jones, who completed a two-year posting to Anguilla last year, suggested the government’s reluctance to commit significant aid may be motivated by embarrassment over its role in sustaining tax havens in the region.

 

[beorhthelm]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...rma-british-aid-derisory-caribbean-tax-havens

its a queer argument to make from the island's leaders - UK doesnt want to assist us because it may draw attention to the fact we dont tax corporations. no one was talking about their tax haven status until he and the Guardian brought it up.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

its a queer argument to make from the island's leaders - UK doesnt want to assist us because it may draw attention to the fact we dont tax corporations. no one was talking about their tax haven status until he and the Guardian brought it up.

From that article it sounds like that former attorney-general of the BVI's doesn't like their secretive tax haven status and is in fact siding with the campaigners for transparency.

Of course their tax haven status and the residents not paying any tax are related but separate things.

 

[Pretty Plnk Fairy]

bad weather happens end of. you climate change leftys going on about rising sea levels and stuff are just a bunch of melts
regards
DR