Hurricane Maria hits eastern Caribbean

Pointe-a-Pitre, Sept. 18: Hurricane Maria barrelled towards the stormbattered eastern Caribbean and was expected to strengthen on Monday as it churned along a path similar to that of megastorm Irma earlier in the month.

The new storm, which the US National Hurricane Center warned could become a “major hurricane”, threatens the French territory of Guadeloupe, which was the staging area for relief operations for several islands hit by Irma.

Guadeloupe was to go on “red alert” Monday with schools, businesses and government offices ordered closed. Warnings were also triggered for Dominica, St Kitts, Nevis, the British island of Montserrat and France’s Martinique. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb warned in Paris on Sunday that “we will have major difficulties” if Guadeloupe is hard hit, noting that the territory “was the logistical centre from where we could supply Saint Martin and organise all the air bridges.” Fifteen people died from Irma on Saint Martin, an island shared by France and the Netherlands. Officials in Guadeloupe predicted severe flooding in lowlying areas and urged people living there to move to higher ground.

France, Britain and the Netherlands have been criticised for the pace of relief efforts and failure to contain lawlessness in their overseas territories amid widespread shortages of food, water. But in the Guadeloupe capital Pointe-a-Pitre, local official Josette Borel-Lincertain said authorities had ample experience preparing for hurricanes.