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| In Hurricane Irma’s Ruinous Wake: ‘I Feel Like I’m on the Moon’ | In Hurricane Irma’s Ruinous Wake: ‘I Feel Like I’m on the Moon’ |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Read the latest with Friday’s live updates on Hurricane Irma. | Read the latest with Friday’s live updates on Hurricane Irma. |
| Cars were tossed in the air. Roofs were ripped off houses as families sheltered inside. And at least 19 people have died because of the storm: nine in the French Caribbean, four in the United States Virgin Islands, three in Puerto Rico, one on the Dutch side of St. Martin, one in Barbuda and one in Anguilla. | Cars were tossed in the air. Roofs were ripped off houses as families sheltered inside. And at least 19 people have died because of the storm: nine in the French Caribbean, four in the United States Virgin Islands, three in Puerto Rico, one on the Dutch side of St. Martin, one in Barbuda and one in Anguilla. |
| Here is what the destruction looked like on some of the islands directly in the storm’s path. | Here is what the destruction looked like on some of the islands directly in the storm’s path. |
| Almost all of the island of St. Martin was destroyed, according to Daniel Gibbs, the president of the country’s French territorial council. | Almost all of the island of St. Martin was destroyed, according to Daniel Gibbs, the president of the country’s French territorial council. |
| “There are shipwrecks everywhere, destroyed houses everywhere, torn off roofs everywhere,” Mr. Gibbs told Radio Caraïbes International. “It’s just unbelievable, it’s indescribable.” | “There are shipwrecks everywhere, destroyed houses everywhere, torn off roofs everywhere,” Mr. Gibbs told Radio Caraïbes International. “It’s just unbelievable, it’s indescribable.” |
| Eze Egwuatu, a California resident who was visiting the island when the hurricane struck Wednesday, sheltered at the home where he and a friend were staying on the Dutch side of the island. The roof was ripped off the building as the pair huddled in a windowless room. | Eze Egwuatu, a California resident who was visiting the island when the hurricane struck Wednesday, sheltered at the home where he and a friend were staying on the Dutch side of the island. The roof was ripped off the building as the pair huddled in a windowless room. |
| “The sound, it’s something I’ll never forget,” Mr. Egwuatu said. “It was like chaos outside, man. You could just hear things breaking.” | “The sound, it’s something I’ll never forget,” Mr. Egwuatu said. “It was like chaos outside, man. You could just hear things breaking.” |
| After the storm, he posted videos of the “utter destruction” he saw, including cars tossed off the road and into gardens. | After the storm, he posted videos of the “utter destruction” he saw, including cars tossed off the road and into gardens. |
| “They got picked up and flipped over, most of them were hit by debris, it was insane,” Mr. Egwuatu said. | “They got picked up and flipped over, most of them were hit by debris, it was insane,” Mr. Egwuatu said. |
| The prime minister of France, Edouard Philippe, said on Thursday that four people were confirmed killed on St. Martin, revising down an earlier count of eight deaths by local rescue officials. | The prime minister of France, Edouard Philippe, said on Thursday that four people were confirmed killed on St. Martin, revising down an earlier count of eight deaths by local rescue officials. |
| Mr. Philippe said around 50 people were injured, including two seriously, and 60 percent of homes on the island had been damaged so badly that they were uninhabitable. | Mr. Philippe said around 50 people were injured, including two seriously, and 60 percent of homes on the island had been damaged so badly that they were uninhabitable. |
| On St. Barthélémy, another island in the French Caribbean known as an exclusive playground for the rich and famous, residents were surprised by the storm’s ferocity. | On St. Barthélémy, another island in the French Caribbean known as an exclusive playground for the rich and famous, residents were surprised by the storm’s ferocity. |
| “It attacked slowly and winds came,” one resident of the island identified only as Kevin told the French television outlet BFMTV. “And all of a sudden, things start to blow everywhere, you have gusts of wind and you hear projectiles banging everywhere.” | “It attacked slowly and winds came,” one resident of the island identified only as Kevin told the French television outlet BFMTV. “And all of a sudden, things start to blow everywhere, you have gusts of wind and you hear projectiles banging everywhere.” |
| “I feel like I’m on the moon. There’s not a single tree standing anymore,” another resident, Emmanuel Renoult, told BFMTV. “We were expecting something big, but we are all flabbergasted. The mood is depressing here. We expect very rough days ahead.” | “I feel like I’m on the moon. There’s not a single tree standing anymore,” another resident, Emmanuel Renoult, told BFMTV. “We were expecting something big, but we are all flabbergasted. The mood is depressing here. We expect very rough days ahead.” |
| Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, said half of Barbuda’s residents were left homeless by the storm and officials declared a state of emergency on Thursday. | Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, said half of Barbuda’s residents were left homeless by the storm and officials declared a state of emergency on Thursday. |
| Communication with the island has been especially difficult, after the storm knocked out power. Aerial video taken on Wednesday afternoon revealed widespread damage to buildings. | Communication with the island has been especially difficult, after the storm knocked out power. Aerial video taken on Wednesday afternoon revealed widespread damage to buildings. |
| Antigua and Barbuda’s Attorney General and Minister of Public Safety, Steadroy Benjamin, issued a mandatory evacuation order for the island of Barbuda on Friday. | |
| Hurricane José is expected to make landfall this Saturday, bringing winds of up to 125 miles per hour to the islands, threatening those whose homes were lost or damaged by the earlier storm. | |
| “I actually was just visiting family in Barbuda. I’m from New York,” Teline Charles, 33, said. “I never experienced anything like that. The roof came off during the storm and we actually had to leave the house and run into the car until the eye came and then ran for better shelter.” | |
| In the United States Virgin Islands, the hurricane tore the roofs off many homes and businesses, knocked down power lines, flooded two shelters and caused “catastrophic failures” at the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital. | In the United States Virgin Islands, the hurricane tore the roofs off many homes and businesses, knocked down power lines, flooded two shelters and caused “catastrophic failures” at the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital. |
| As of Friday, the full impact — particularly on the islands of St. Thomas and St. John — was still being assessed, but officials confirmed that at least four people had died. | As of Friday, the full impact — particularly on the islands of St. Thomas and St. John — was still being assessed, but officials confirmed that at least four people had died. |
| Kelsey Nowakowski, who lives in St. Thomas, described how she and four friends had hunkered down and waited for the storm to pass on Wednesday. | Kelsey Nowakowski, who lives in St. Thomas, described how she and four friends had hunkered down and waited for the storm to pass on Wednesday. |
| “We’ve all been in hurricanes before, but have never felt anything like this before,” Ms. Nowakowski said in a message via Twitter. “It feels seismic, it feels catastrophic.” | “We’ve all been in hurricanes before, but have never felt anything like this before,” Ms. Nowakowski said in a message via Twitter. “It feels seismic, it feels catastrophic.” |
| The group had boarded themselves into the house and were bailing water from the floor throughout the storm. | The group had boarded themselves into the house and were bailing water from the floor throughout the storm. |
| John McKendrick, Anguilla’s attorney general, said Thursday that the island had suffered “huge devastation” from the hurricane. Satellite images show the moment Hurricane Irma’s eye passed over the island. | John McKendrick, Anguilla’s attorney general, said Thursday that the island had suffered “huge devastation” from the hurricane. Satellite images show the moment Hurricane Irma’s eye passed over the island. |
| Up to 90 percent of the homes on the island had been damaged, fallen trees had blocked many roads, cell phone service was interrupted and electrical service was cut. The entire island was still without power on Thursday, he said. | Up to 90 percent of the homes on the island had been damaged, fallen trees had blocked many roads, cell phone service was interrupted and electrical service was cut. The entire island was still without power on Thursday, he said. |
| In addition, the ports and the airport remained closed because of the damage. | In addition, the ports and the airport remained closed because of the damage. |
| “It’s been bad,” Mr. McKendrick said in a telephone interview from London, where he was on a trip when the hurricane struck the island. “A lot of people are exhausted and a lot of homes are damaged. | “It’s been bad,” Mr. McKendrick said in a telephone interview from London, where he was on a trip when the hurricane struck the island. “A lot of people are exhausted and a lot of homes are damaged. |
| One person in Anguilla died in Hurricane Irma, Mr. Kendrick confirmed, though he did not know the circumstances of the death. | One person in Anguilla died in Hurricane Irma, Mr. Kendrick confirmed, though he did not know the circumstances of the death. |
| Javorn Micheal Fahie, a taxi driver who lives on the largest of the British Virgin Islands, Tortola, said most of the galvanized steel roofs on homes in his neighborhood blew off in the storm. | Javorn Micheal Fahie, a taxi driver who lives on the largest of the British Virgin Islands, Tortola, said most of the galvanized steel roofs on homes in his neighborhood blew off in the storm. |
| “We took a beating,” he said Wednesday from his concrete house in the Johnson’s Ghut area of the island, where he had been riding out the storm all day. | “We took a beating,” he said Wednesday from his concrete house in the Johnson’s Ghut area of the island, where he had been riding out the storm all day. |
| Though the power on the island had gone out by 9 a.m., Mr. Fahie was able to stay connected via a Wi-Fi router in a bus he owns; it was parked next to his house, enabling him to continue using the internet from the safety of his home. | Though the power on the island had gone out by 9 a.m., Mr. Fahie was able to stay connected via a Wi-Fi router in a bus he owns; it was parked next to his house, enabling him to continue using the internet from the safety of his home. |