September 19th, 2017 — The eye of Hurricane Maria passed over the Commonwealth of Dominica last night and into the early hours of this morning. Even while it was still impacting, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit posted the following: “Initial reports are of widespread devastation. So far we have lost all what money can buy and replace. My greatest fear for the morning is that we will wake to news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains. So, far the winds have swept away the roofs of almost every person I…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – The Prime Minister of St. Maarten, Mr. William Marlin, on Monday afternoon stated that his answers to questions posed by a Dutch reporter last week were not properly reflected in the published report in the NRC Handelsblad. “I regret the unnecessary controversy which this has generated and the distraction from our main focus which is the recovery effort in which we need all positive hands on deck,” Marlin said. “The Dutch military has been doing a remarkable job. They are very much needed and the government and people of St. Maarten are grateful for their valuable contributions in…
GREAT BAY — Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher on Monday explained that a decision about when residents abroad can return to the island will be made sometime after the passing of Hurricane Maria. The Minister assured those abroad that every effort will be made to get them home sooner rather than later. In fact, she said, those efforts were already underway before Hurricane Maria formed and quickly became a threat. As such all activities are on hold again while the island prepared for the passing of the storm. Once the storm passes the Council of Ministers…
SXM AIRPORT — Over 300,000 (Three Hundred thousand) pounds of hurricane relief supplies were secured and delivered by Ministry TEATT Team Relief SXM in the days following Hurricane Irma. The team, which consisted of several volunteers, was quickly formed once commercial airlines was cleared by Minister of Tourism Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher to fly into St. Maarten to perform humanitarian airlift. The commercial airline that brought the most supplies into St. Maarten for Team Relief was Pawa Dominicana with 76,200 pounds of relief goods transported. Other major contributors were Sunwing with 28,800, Delta Airlines with 17,800, Copa Airlines with 17,800, Winair with…
SXM AIRPORT — Airlines suspending service to a destination after a natural disaster is expected, especially when the hotel inventory of the destination is very low, says Head of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau Rolando Brison. Considering the level of destruction to St. Maarten’s hotel properties, the airport and overall infrastructure, Brison said, airlines will always consider the level of their service. What’s important, he stressed, is to maintain open lines of communication with airline partners and maintain a balance of current airlift. “Flights will always be directly proportional to the number of rooms a destination has, so some airlines…
PHILIPSBURG — Minister Responsible for Economic Affairs Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher has dispatched the controllers of the Economic Control Department to conduct rigorous controls of supermarkets and businesses that sell hurricane items. After reports of exorbitant prices, the Minister had already warned last week that any business caught price gouging will be severely fined. The Minister also announced that the list of the max prices for hurricane items is available for download on government’s website (www.sintmaartengov.org) under the “announcements” section of the website. This will also be available via the Government of St. Maarten Facebook page. For complaints against businesses selling listed…
PHILIPSBURG — Sint Maarten’s “Social & Health Insurances” (Sociale Ziektekosten Verzekering – SZV) herewith requests the attention of all our SZV-Clients who are now temporary living in Curaçao for the following important information. For medical treatment on Curacao, our SZV-Clients can contact the following general practitioners: Medical Center Aesculapius – SBN Doormanweg 47 Tel: 737 0522 R. Filet – Winston Churchillweg 131 Tel:888 232 Medical Center Sòrsaka – Caracasbaaiweg 274 Tel: 7360530 Medical Center Sta. Rosa – Rosaweg 329 Tel: 767 6666 Medical Center de Savaan – De Savaan 109-A Tel: 868 3035 In case of emergency, please call one…
(Click on image above to enlarge) Hurricane Maria Stats: Date: Sep 17 Time: 21:00 GMT Lat: 13.8° Lon: -57.5° Wind: 75 mph Pressure 982 mb Storm type: Hurricane Cat: 1 The islands of the northeast Caribbean, hard-hit by Hurricane Irma, are bracing for the impact of another ferocious Cape Verde-type hurricane, as Tropical Storm Maria, packing winds of 65 mph, headed west-northwest at 15 mph late Sunday morning. Hurricane watches were up for all of the Lesser Antilles Islands blasted by Irma’s eyewall winds earlier this month, including Barbuda, St. Maarten/St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, and Anguilla. Hurricane watches and…
PHILIPSBURG – On Sunday afternoon, September 17, 2017, the Government of Sint Maarten – Governor Drs. Eugene Holiday and the full Council of Ministers – met with the mission team established by the Dutch Government, headed by Mr. Erwin Arkenbout and locally supported by the Representative of the Netherlands in Philipsburg (VNP), Mr. Chris Johnson. The Dutch mission is offering assistance in the recovery and rebuilding phase of Sint Maarten in areas required and desired by the government of Sint Maarten. The present mission team consists of a group of experts in various areas such as communication, telecommunication, crisis management,…
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten (17 September 2017)—Prime Minister The Honorable William Marlin of Sint Maarten releases the following briefing on the infrastructure, along with words of thanks. Please note that all was current at press time and is subject to change as work and talks progress. ROADS Main roads are cleared and work continues on inner roads to the districts. ELECTRICITY / WATER Several districts have received electricity and water thus far. Emphasis and priority is being placed in this regard also for the schools to receive the same. TELEPHONE / INTERNET SERVICE Major telecommunication services including TELEM and UTS is functioning, however…
