Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Southeast U.S. Begin To Assess Irma’s Aftermath

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 AS OF 4:00 PM EST

This will be the final situational awareness post for Irma. Hagerty Consulting’s preparedness and recovery subject matter experts will continue to monitor the remnants of this storm in the coming days and issue additional posts if the situation changes.

The NOAA National Hurricane Center reported on Tuesday afternoon that Irma is now a post tropical cyclone bringing moderate to heavy rains to parts of the Southeast. While the storm continues to weaken, over sixteen million residents across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are without power in their homes. Areas around Florida and the Southeast U.S., particularly the Florida Keys, are left with damages caused by Irma. FEMA administrator Brock Long stated, “basically, every house in the Keys was impacted some way,” with FEMA estimating 25 percent of homes in the Florida Keys were destroyed by Irma.

The U.S. Virgin Islands faced extensive damages, particularly in St. Thomas and St. John, including four fatalities as a result of Irma. FEMA has declared a major disaster for the U.S. Virgin Islands, specifically for damages to St. John and St. Thomas, as well as declarations for Puerto Rico and Florida. Currently, experts are still trying to capture the extent of all of Irma’s damages.

Although Irma has weakened, it has left behind dangerous flood waters in many parts of the storm’s path, particularly in Florida. The NOAA has cautioned residents to avoid storm and flood waters.

EMERGENCY RESOURCES

• FEMA Assistance: Link
• Red Cross Open Shelters: Link
• Remember, Ready.gov provides information on how to prepare for a storm and how to keep you and your family safe: link

Hagerty Consulting is an emergency management consulting firm that helps our clients prepare for and recover from disasters. Established in 2001, Hagerty Consulting’s work includes some of the nation’s largest recovery and preparedness projects in more than 30 states, including 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Sandy.

You can learn more about our disaster recovery practice here.