Philipsburg:--- Cleaning up St. Maarten in all areas is a task the residents and members of public works have begun shortly after hurricane Earl passed across St. Maarten and its neighboring islands. While the island was spared from significant damage one of the most worrisome scenes is the areas where the different political parties had their posters.
Even though the Island Lt. Governor and Chairman of EOC urged all political parties to make the necessary arrangements to remove their political paraphernalia from alongside the public roads as hurricane Earl approached, the political parties only safeguarded their posters leaving the wooden frames in their respective positions alongside public roads.
These frames were seen in different locations tumbled across the roads and in some cases were blown on to private properties. At least three 40-foot containers that are used for political posters were also overturned with the high winds. A situation which is dangerous for road users and members of the public in general. Signs on several buildings such as Motor World, Office 1 Superstore, The Daily Herald and a few road signs were also blown down. A few houses also lost their roof including a roadside restaurant in Cole Bay.
Another eye sore during the passing of Earl and which made cleaning up more difficult in some areas was the overflowing garbage bins on both sides of the island. Many of these bins fell and the uncollected garbage washed away in the nearby drains, causing unnecessary flooding.While the heavy winds has already subsided St. Maarten still has to prepare for at least 8 inches of rainfall which is expected from Earl, while a tropical storm Fiona is already making its way towards the Leeward islands.
A large amount of trees broke down leaving many roads inaccessible, cable and electrical poles were also down leaving many areas without electricity. The board walk was full of sand and sea weed as it is clear that the sea water due to rough seas washed onto the boardwalk. Rescue and the clean-up crews began cleaning up the Great Bay area shortly after the passing of Earl even though the curfew was not yet lifted. Heavy equipments from MNO was seen removing the sand that came in from Great Bay beach while some residents in the area lent a helping hand to remove the trees that fell in their immediate neighborhoods.
Police officers and members of the Voluntary Korps braved the heavy rains as they controlled each passing vehicle and to maintain the curfew. In some areas the police vehicle was seen across the roads as the officers tried their best to make sure that people were not out and about unnecessarily and to maintain public order. Some youths that were walking out of St. Peters area with hoodies were made to turn back as they were not able to say exactly where they were going. Police did their best to avoid looting and theft throughout the storm.
Residents in almost every area were seen outside of their homes trying to clean up after Earl. The residents of Beacon Hill were surely locked in as the waves from Maho beach were washing up across the road and running on to the airport runway. The Sunset Beach Bar suffered significant damage as the waves were beating into the restaurant balcony and sitting area. Debris was also seen in the airport parking lots. GEBE power plant also seemed to suffer from sea water damage. It was clear that the waves from Cape Bay Beach were washing onto the GEBE power plant property.
Even though Earl was well away from St. Maarten he leaves behind severe sea conditions in the Great Bay and Simpson Bay areas. The A. C Wathey Cruise dock was almost covered with high waves, at certain point the cruise dock was no longer visible. The water in the Great Salt pond was also very high shortly after the passing of Earl. It is not yet known if the pumps would help in eliminating the water since the seas itself was very rough.
While the island has been spared significant damage residents of St. Maarten needs to remain vigilante as Fiona approaches. We urge the three political parties to use the remaining time we have to remove their fallen poster frames to avoid personal injuries to our residents and visitors.Several areas on the French side of the island also suffered the loss of electricity. EDF workers were waiting after 2pm on Monday for clearance from the Prefet Delegue to begin accessing the damage that was caused to the over head power lines.
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