Macron will visit hard-hit Caribbean

MARIGOT, St. Martin (AP) — The French government on Sunday defended its hurricane preparations for the hard-hit Caribbean islands of St. Martin and St. Barts, rejecting criticism by political opponents and by islanders who felt abandoned as their homes and towns were devastated.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced he would be traveling to St. Martin on Tuesday on an Airbus carrying aid supplies to show that Paris is committed to both helping and rebuilding its far-away territories pummeled by Hurricane Irma.

Some Caribbean officials said Britain was also too slow in responding to destruction on the British Virgin Islands and the Dutch government faced criticism for not acting more quickly to evacuate tourists stranded on St. Maarten, the Dutch side of St. Martin. The Dutch king is also heading to the region.

The hurricane killed at least nine people on St. Martin as it hit Wednesday, destroying a huge number of houses, cars and boats and cutting off all water and electricity for days. Extra troops had to be sent to stop the looting of stores. Another four people were killed on St. Maarten.

The arrival of Hurricane Jose, a Category 4 that passed by on Sunday, only delayed recovery efforts across the Leeward Islands.

In St. Martin on Sunday, authorities were trying to set up the first large distribution points for food and water as the smell of churned-up rotting debris wafted over the island.

In the western coastal town of Grand-Case, a 76-year-old man who only gave his first name, Michel, emerged from a grocery store laden with food, explaining that he had nothing else to eat.