The popular Caribbean tourist destination island of Saint Maarten was left devastated in the wake of Hurricane Irma, and now we know via the U.S. consulate that almost 6,000 Americans have been left stranded.
As residents of the island begin to rebuild, the U.S. Consulate General in Curacao is working on ways to get Americans out via boat or air.
In the meantime, visitors and residents, regardless of citizenship, are left without power and clean water.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told the AP the storm “caused wide-scale destruction of infrastructure, houses and businesses.”
“There is no power, no gasoline, no running water. Houses are under water, cars are floating through the streets, inhabitants are sitting in the dark in ruined houses and are cut off from the outside world,” he said.
To make matters worse, a new hurricane, Jose, has developed in the Atlantic and is tracking to hit Saint Maarten, as well as other islands already destroyed by Irma, as recovery efforts are just beginning.
Video shows just how bad things on Saint Martin are right now:
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