Hurricane winds strengthen as Maria heads for British islands
A HURRICANE heading towards British overseas territories and the Caribbean is “strengthening”, as the region which was battered and devastated by Irma days ago prepares for another major storm.
Hurricane Maria is expected to become “dangerous and major” as it heads towards the Lesser Antilles, prompting alerts for the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and Anguilla that lie to the west.
The National Hurricane Centre based in Miami said the weather front is predicted to be a category two hurricane, with winds of up to 110mph due to lash islands in its path.
“Additional rapid strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Maria is expected to become a dangerous major hurricane before it moves through the Leeward Islands,” the centre said.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is advising against all travel to the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and Anguilla.
Maria is expected to make landfall on Tuesday or Wednesday, with severe damage and coastal flooding expected.
Up to 12 inches of rain is predicted, with “isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches” expected to hit the British Virgin Islands through Wednesday night.
In Anguilla, a maximum amount of up to eight inches could fall. The National Hurricane Centre has warned that “rainfall on these islands could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides”.
Chris Austin from the Department for International Development, who is leading the UK’s response to the disaster, said the Joint Task Force is anticipating having to provide further shortterm relief as Maria edges closer.
He said they have already provided 75 tonnes of aid – including shelter kits, food and water – but warned the 5,000 tarpaulins already distributed could be lost in the new weather front.
“We are planning for the unexpected, we are planning for the worst, we need to demonstrate our own resilience because there could be some pretty sharp backwards steps I think,” Mr Austin said.
Brigadier John Ridge, the second in command of the Joint Task Force, said: “Even with an hour of rain here (British Virgin Islands) at the moment, it runs straight off as there is no vegetation.
“Normally it would get absorbed by the leaves, that’s not there, and the storm drains which then divert the flow have all been blocked by the detritus that have run off the hills.”
He said additional reserve troops will be sent to the British Virgin Islands, insisting it is a “risk worth taking” because it ensures “extra capacity” to deal with any immediate problems in the aftermath.
“Once the hurricane is through we can leap back into action, we have got the guys positioned in the right place so they are ready to react,” he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Maynard, commanding officer of 40 Commando Royal Marines, said the monitoring equipment to keep track of hurricanes is currently out of action on Tortola.
“We are relying on other overseas territories and the US to just monitor that, the threat is very real,” he said.
Another problem was that because there is so much debris on the island of Tortola following the damage caused by Irma, another hurricane is “just going to pick all that up, spin it around and throw it like ammunition everywhere”.