When will these hurricanes leave the Caribbean Islands alone? They've been hit by almost every major hurricane that's come along in the past few weeks: Harvey, Irma, Juan, Katia, and now Hurricane Maria. This new storm is a category 5 hurricane, which is very severe; it's the category that Irma was assigned at its peak strength when it was raging towards the Florida Keys.
According to the Prime Minister of the Caribbean Island of Dominica where the people have faced the worst of the storm's wrath, the island has been "brutalised and devastated" by the onslaught of Hurricane Maria.
Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit wrote on his official Facebook page that the hurricane had ripped the roof off his house, which he had to be rescued from before he could appear on TV to give a statement. He admitted in his Facebook post that he was "at the complete mercy of the hurricane." The storm hit the island's eastern coast last night and has been raging on ever since, heading towards the south-western region for Roseau, the former capital of the British colony.
Hurricane Maria reclassified as category 4 after Dominica hit
After Dominica was hit and faced the brunt of Hurricane Maria, the storm moved on and is now on its way to more islands in the eastern region of the Caribbean.
It's a joke; these regions are still struggling to get food and water and medical attention to the people who fell victim to Hurricane Irma, and already there's another one on its way. After it left Dominica earlier today, leaving a path of destruction in its wake, the storm was reclassified as a category 4. Apparently it got a lot out of its system in Dominica, enough to get knocked down a whole category, but it's still going strong.
According to statistics produced by the United States National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Maria is a "major hurricane" with its sustained wind speeds reaching a maximum number of 155 miles per hour. They warn that this storm will continue to gain strength over the course of the next couple of days and will still be "extremely dangerous" as it continues its course to ravage the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Prime Minister Skerrit confirmed that people have died at the hands of the hurricane in Dominica, but that the local authorities won't know exactly "how many dead there are" until tomorrow morning when reports start coming in and the chaos has calmed down as the hurricane is moving on.
Skerrit added that the damage done to the island of Dominica that he's seen so far is "mind-boggling." And apparently he's not the only person whose roof was torn from their house by the winds of Hurricane Maria. He said that the roofs have been ripped off the properties of "almost every person I have spoken to." This is serious stuff. He said that the primary goal of the emergency services in Dominica right now is "rescuing the trapped and securing medical assistance for the injured," and that the island will need "help of all kinds" in the recovery process following the hurricane's destructive fury.
Why is this happening?
Is it really a coincidence that all of these hurricanes have come along in the months following US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris agreement. It's a UN treaty that's been signed by damn near every country in the world, even North Korea, to reduce the effects of climate change on the future of our world so that it doesn't, you know, die on us or anything. It was a landmark back when President Barack Obama signed it and it was a step in the right direction for America, the second largest carbon emitter in the world after China, and for our environment. But then Trump had to stick his big nose in and pull out of the accord and now the world is being battered by hurricanes, specifically in the surrounding areas of America, and now Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean Islands.
Is that really a coincidence, or is it some kind of Biblical plague sent by a vengeful God? Or perhaps it's Mother Earth retaliating against the human race. Either way, it's not great, and people are losing their lives.
The locals of Dominica managed to escape the devastating atrocities of Hurricane Irma, but they were warned about further troubles on their way. It was recommended that they head to the nearest supermarket and stock up on supplies and essentials like food and water in anticipation of another hurricane. Now that the other hurricane has arrived in the form of Hurricane Maria, they'll be glad they listened to the warnings and stocked up.
