Just as the recovery efforts on Sint Maarten/Saint Martin are kicking into high gear, another storm — this time, Maria — is heading for the Antilles. It’s difficult enough for this community to deal with it’s situation of near-complete devastation — trying to rebuild and get back to a somewhat normal state of being — than to have yet another storm predicted to hit within the next 36 to 48 hours.
Hurricane #Maria Advisory 6: Maria Becomes a Hurricane. https://t.co/VqHn0uj6EM
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) September 17, 2017
In it’s latest weather update, the National Hurricane Center has indicated that Maria has strengthened to a hurricane and is being predicted to turn into a major hurricane as it heads towards the Lesser Antilles. Winds are sustained at 75 mph (120 km/hr) as the storm moves west/northwest at 15 mph.
If that’s not enough, tropical depression Lee is forming just behind Maria but, at latest report, the storm was weakening. For locals on the island, and those others that haven chosen to stay and help rebuild, it’s tantamount to a hurricane version of Russian Roulette. Another storm and more rain, combined with high winds could be a fatal blow, a tipping point, to an already tenuous situation for many.
