Mum’s blast in hurricane aftermath
A GLASGOW woman has spoken of her fears for her son, who is with his family in the Hurricane Irma-hit British Virgin Islands.
And she has blasted the British government for not doing enough to help him and other Britons on the islands, which have been badly-damaged in the ferocious hurricane, the worst ever recorded in the Atlantic.
Marie Joyce, from Crookston, said her son Brendan was on Tortola, wih his wife and sons.
THE mother of a Glasgow man caught up in Hurricane Irma has blasted the British government for not responding to the disaster quickly enough.
Marie Joyce, 70, from Crookston, has said that more should be done for the British Virgin Islands which have been devastated by the category five hurricane which has claimed 10 lives.
Her son, Brendan Joyce, is currently living on one of the worst affected islands, Tortola, with his wife and two kids.
The family were able to take shelter from the storm at their father-in-law’s home which was almost completely destroyed.
The 44-year-old, who has lived on the island for ten years, managed to contact his family in Glasgow online to express fears that their food supplies may run out due to no deliveries being able to reach them.
Marie said her son has been unable to reach their family home at the opposite side of Tortola due to their cars being damaged by falling debris.
She said: “The house they took shelter in was in was blown away and they were only left in a safe room – he didn’t realise until he went outside that everything was gone.”
“He said it’s like something out the Wizard of Oz.
“His mother-in-law is in hospital and can’t be shipped out and he hasn’t been out to his own house.
“He’ll have to try and get down to the hospital to see if they can get help for fatherin-law’s medication which was blown away along with all their food supplies.
“I’m worried about getting the things into the island like generators and fresh water.
“They don’t know how long their food will last. There’s only one ship a week that comes in with food to Tortola from Miami – it won’t be coming now.
“They will have to make decisions in the next couple of days about whether to leave because he’s worried about the children who are four and two.
“I’m trying to get attention drawn to it because if Britain doesn’t do anything, where are the supplies going to come from?”
In response to disaster, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan commented that an initial assessment had revealed that damage to the British Virgin Islands is “severe”.
He added: “We expect that the islands will need extensive humanitarian assistance, which we will of course provide.
“We will be working in support of the Overseas Territories’ governments to develop the best possible assessment of their immediate and longer term needs.”
HURRICANE Irma has left death and destruction in its wake with British territories being “pummelled” overnight.
Medical supplies and other aid were due to be flown to the worst affected areas following a pledge from the British Government of £32 million towards the relief effort.
The Turks and Caicos Islands government declared a national shutdown as the category five storm continued to tear across the Caribbean
States of emergency have been declared in Puerto Rico, Cuba and Florida, where the storm is due to make landfall soon.
The Foreign Office has set up a hotline to help those caught up in the disaster, or their loved ones, on 020 7008 0000.