Hurricane Irma: British Virgin Islands resemble ‘bomb site’

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British troops and police have been deployed to halt looting in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) after Hurricane Irma struck the UK overseas territory at near full strength, killing at least five people and upending homes, yachts and offshore businesses.

Food and water are scarce and there is “chaos” at petrol stations, with queues of cars stretching up to a “mile away”, reports the BVI News.

“Irma’s winds and flooding cut electricity throughout the BVI and knocked out vital communications infrastructure, leaving the 35,000 residents isolated,” the Financial Times says.

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Sir Richard Branson shared photos and video footage showing the damage on Necker, his private island, and appealed for aid for the region.

Instead of lush hillsides and translucent blue bays, the most populated island of Tortola today “looks like the victim of a bomb blast”, says the BBC. A local hospital is doubling up as a homeless shelter and a curfew has been imposed between 6pm and 6am.

Some residents criticised the UK government’s emergency relief response as “pathetic and slow”, reports the website.

About 500 British troops and police have been deployed to tackle looting and help with rescue efforts in the region, with 120 of those stationed in the BVI, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.

Fallon said that Britain had also stationed a 16,000-tonne aid ship in the Caribbean for the hurricane season, equipped with marines, a helicopter and pallets of aid, and that “as soon as we were clear which airfields could be used, we got our flights in. We have troops helping at the moment.”

The UK has pledged a £32m cash injection to its territories in the region. Both residents and the UK financial hub have been devastated by Irma.

Offshore business and BVI legal hubs also face chaos following what the FT describes as “catastrophic damage”.