Reports about casualties vary wildly

MARIGOT – Hurricane Irma has destroyed 95 percent of Saint Martin, the president of the Collectivité, Daniel Gibbs has said. A report in the free newsletter Fax Info mentions that Irma has taken 8 lives and injured 20 people.

However, residents of French Quarter have reported 19 dead in their district alone, while there was earlier mention of 11 fatalities in Grand Case – putting the total between 30 and 40. Other sources told this newspaper that hundreds of people are still missing, suggesting that the death toll is still likely to rise.

President Gibbs expressed in a brief public message his gratitude towards the public services and also to citizens who sprang into action after the passing of Hurricane Irma to help free the roads and their environment of debris. Gibbs also thanked companies that answered the call for assistance with the massive cleanup operation.

“There is still a lot of debris to clean up, but fifteen days after the passage of the hurricane we can all be proud of the work we have accomplished,” Gibbs said.

The French telecom operator Dauphin has made several Wifi hotspots available for internet connectivity. They are located in front of the company’s building in Marigot, at Semsamar, at the Cul de Sac roundabout (near the road towards Pinel Island), at the Aventura building in Hope Estate, in French Quarter in front of the stadium towards the Étang aux Poissons and at the roundabout in Agrément (provided by MSR). All these so-called hotspots have a reach of 500 meters.

Dauphin also provides mobile 2G-3G connectivity in Marigot, Concordia, Rambaud, Morne O’Reilly, Grand Case, Hope Estate, Cul de Sac, Orient Bay, French Quarter and Oyster Pond.

The concert Together for the Antilles, broadcast on the French TV channel France 2 on Tuesday, September 19, generated €2.2 million. Among the performing artists were Amir, Laurent Voulzy, Patrick Bruel,  Mc Solaar, Shy’me and Nolwenn  Leroy. The money goes to relief efforts in Saint Martin and St. Barths.