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Title : Hurricane Maria Response: St. Croix Update from My Friend in the Coast Guard
link : Hurricane Maria Response: St. Croix Update from My Friend in the Coast Guard
Hurricane Maria Response: St. Croix Update from My Friend in the Coast Guard
Last week, I posted an update on Hurricane Maria according to our friend, Andy, who is deployed there from Juneau and coordinating the Coast Guard's federal response to the hurricane.My mom's plans to travel there and do mental health relief work have not yet come together because folks like Andy are still doing emergency work and there's nowhere to stay. She expects to get there sometime this winter after immediate life, health, and safety needs are under control.
Here's the latest from Andy:
St Croix report: I went to the east end of St Croix last week to visit the Coast Guard inspection office, which is not near a population center. The office has very limited communication and it was difficult to understand the situation on the ground from our command post in San Juan. Not surprisingly, some things were worse and some better than expected.
The utility grid is destroyed, and the roads have not yet been cleared. Utility poles are in the streets, wires across the roads. There was widespread damage to homes across the island, and I met several people who had been displaced by the storm. The Coast Guard permanent party’s homes were all rendered uninhabitable due to wind damage, water intrusion and mold growth. A temporary crew was housed in a hotel which was about 2/3 destroyed, but had remaining habitable rooms and a functioning restaurant. Many homes on the east end have rain catchment cisterns on their roofs as their primary source of water, but most of these have been contaminated by vegetation and windblown debris.
Despite the damage and the heat, the people I encountered were inspiring. Local residents have taken up roles helping each other. I met Maurya, a 70 year old retired U.S. Navy commander who took a leadership role to organize neighbors, and cleared some of the roads leading into her area with a hand saw. She was a career naval engineer, and did a tour as Main Propulsion Assistant on a minesweeper. I met Kevin, the “ice man,” who drove into Christiansted each day to bring ice to the east end to help those with no refrigeration.
The logistical challenges are not as daunting as in Puerto Rico; the island is smaller, the mountains are lower and there was less road destruction. The port is open, grocery stores and some bars and restaurants are open and fully stocked. Despite this, the disruption of lives has meant many people out of work. People are running out of money, hot and exhausted. People don't have functioning refrigeration, so they can't buy much fresh food. Hurricane Hugo has been in the Cruzan consciousness for several decades, but Maria will be the new reference point for destructive storms.
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