News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Sept. 6, 2017, 11:24 am: The latest reports coming out of Antigua say so far there are no reports of deaths from Hurricane Irma but three persons have sought medical attention at the Mount St John Medical Centre.
Currently Antiguan officials are trying to re-establish communication with Barbuda to get a clearer picture of the situation there after the island took a direct hit from Irma.
The last communication with Barbuda was about 12:30 am, officials said this morning. Before communication was lost there were reports of several buildings sustaining damages to their roofs, including the Police Station.
The Barbuda Weather Station, monitored by the Met Office, recorded sustained winds of 119 mph and gusts of 150mph.
District Disaster Coordinators, who have already begun some assessment, said on Antigua, there were also several reports of roof damage in areas like Crosbies, Fort Road, Clare Hall, Grays Farm and Pigotts, where four roofs blew off completely.
Police also conducted rescue operations in Crosbies, Fort Road and Whenner Road.
In St George District, an access-way into Barnes Hill had to be cleared by removing a portion of a tree that fell across the road. In Freetown and Bethesda, a few trees and telephone lines are down.
In the Hodges Bay, there are reports that a few poles and telephone wires are down and there is a roof in the road close to Sunnyside along with downed trees.
There was also a report of a container fire on Friars Hill Road. The Fire Department extinguished the fire.
Antigua’s airport will be open for flights into and out of the island by 2p.m. today.
“Thanks to Almighty God in all his forms for standing at our side at a time of great adversity,” Prime Minister Gaston Browne said this morning. “There is no doubt that the Good Lord is on our side. We in Antigua have weathered the most powerful hurricane ever to storm its way through the Caribbean. And we have done so with stunning results. The forecast was that Antigua would be devastated, our infrastructure demolished, people killed and our economy destroyed. In the light of day, the picture is very different.”
