UK islands ‘getting back to normal’ after storms

A month after the most powerful hurricane in decades pummelled the Caribbean, life in affected British overseas territories is “moving back towards normality”, the head of the UK Task Force has said.

Barrelling through the region and unleashing life-threatening winds, category five Hurricane Irma tore a destructive trail and sparked a major UK aid operation.

The British Virgin Islands bore the brunt of the damage, with buildings reduced to their foundations and lush green hillsides turned into brown stubble.

Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands also suffered widespread destruction as Irma felled trees, tore off roofs, and flattened electricity poles. One month on from the storm, Chris Austin, the head of the UK Joint Task Force, said life for some was “still pretty rough”.