Steemit exclusive...Photos during and post Hurricane Irma ravaged through St Maarten...
These photos are Steemit exclusive taken by yours truly as I tried to document some of my experiences during and after the Hurricane Irma in St Maarten. Special thanks to Sasha Bernard as she also took some of the photos. All these are raw photos, so please excuse the quality in some cases
The following photos capture shots in the apartment
The following photos capture shots outside the apartment
This one photo probably the most heart breaking as the wind toppled the entire second floor of a home of 4, leaving only the ground floor. Thankfully no one died
This is a photo of me grabbing whats left trying to figure out where to stay as we prepared for the incoming Hurricane Jose at the time. Thank God it went just North of the island, that's another story. 
Extremely grateful that I made it alive and while things look gloomy I only suffered minor cuts and aches. I am still in soundness of mind as one of the neighbor went insane after hearing about the incoming Hurricane Jose. No matter how much you prepare for Hurricane, you are at complete mercy of nature. That building was supposedly built to withstand Hurricane force wind of up to 125 MPH but obviously it tanked. I took a look at the newly built airport that supposedly should withstand Hurricane force wind of up to 200MPH totally tanked reminiscing a dumped site. I am now reading quite a few comments online of people talking about they don't build strong building but Irma was just a freak. The vibration popped your ears and you are literally fighting to breathe from the vacuum that is created. The entire island felt the four tremors that just rock your belly giving nauseous feeling. Whatever the media reports and the articles written by experts, in this case you are just at the complete mercy of nature
Let me say a big thank you to @kid4life for his support during this difficult time.
I have another Dtube Steemit exclusive video coming up, capturing the beginning of the tail of the Hurricane Irma. For those who aren't familiar, Hurricane generally has three phases, the head, the eye and the tail. The head and tail are the most violent while the eye is usually the calm of the Hurricane, often mistaken by many to be the end of the Storm because it can last up to 45 minutes depending on the size of the weather system.
Your upvotes and support during this time would be greatly appreciated.
All financial help would be greatly appreciated. Accepting through the following medium
Bitcoin Wallet: 1Cau9AhRnfeVjr8cuJzdMEtAiJUP1JNdmK
Ethereum Wallet: 0xfe15B672805875454fC113B564F32ccD8A17c94A
Litecoin Wallet: LV4iqkB59mKfZ6M7LT8xfstkixyMNCqJQX
If you wish to help otherwise, feel free to comment below let me know.
Once again, thank you for all the love and support during this difficult period.
Wow, wow, I'm so glad you are uninjured my friend. My heart goes out to you and your family. I'm still stunned by your post, as I've never had a hurricane described like that before.
Yea, this one was a freak, i was at mercy of nature...the popping of the ears was a new experience and relentlessness of the wind to destroy everything in its path...this season has been crazy, literally all the islands taking a beating, I got friends that got evacuated to Dominica from St Maarten that I haven't heard from and the season isn't over until November...Its a great experience for the adrenaline seekers
"Its a great experience for the adrenaline seekers"
You can really spot a silver lining!
We have quite a diverse group of people, quite a few people want to experience the eye of a Category 5 storm, if that's their thing there no better place to be...for me I rather be as far away as possible on the upbeat since we are dependent on Tourism, we probably could explore that as our package, you just never know who would sign up for the package
Haha, Hurricane Tourism. I like it, but I wouldn't want to insure it!
hahahahah...if the cost of premiums are going to go up why not, it would be good business
Man, this is a total bummer, to put it quite mildly. You have my upvote and resteem, and I'm sorry I can't do more.
I will put a good word in for your post with anyone I know with stake to lend.
Thanks man...I appreciate it...Irma just flatten everything, most destructive I have experience, no one got spared and it was just relentless...they are still looking for people unaccounted for and waves just took entire building structure away nowhere to be found...i am just hoping this is only this year and not what is to come...
Wow, these photos look like they were taken in the aftermath of strong quake. I pray never to experience the full fury of a CAT5 hurricane. Hope you can recover quickly from this mess.
I won't wish that experience on my worse enemy, the entire island felt the shaking, it was truly a freak, we were extremely bless other concrete structures did not stand up so well...something is definitely off this season, the heat, intensity and frequency of these weather patterns are unprecedented...usually you have 1 major Hurricane now we have 4 and we not even half way out of the season...my hope is that this season is really an exception because we have to relocate millions of people, this is my third Hurricane after experiencing Ivan and Emily but Irma has broken all records...usually one island is majorly impacted but this season everyone is taking a beating with some islands being declared uninhabitable due to the destruction, we certainly need to have a discussion about these weather patterns and possible try to address any possible causes
There's a lot of conspiracy theories floating online about HAARP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Frequency_Active_Auroral_Research_Program).
I really hope there aren't more of these CAT5 in the next 2-3 weeks. What I find absolutely crazy is how quickly Maria went from a storm to CAT5 hurricane. It was in like less than 24 hours. That's insane.
If the science exist, then probably it can happen, I haven't done any due diligence into HAARP so I cannot give view on that but for Maria, storm at 5am and CAT5 by 5pm sounds like something from a science fiction movie. This Hurricane season would certainly give fresh perspective and the post analysis would probably give a better light of what is actually happening
Sorry you had to experience that dude but I'm glad you made it out alive and are doing good, all things considered!
Here's hoping that you guys get all the help and aid you need to help you rebuild your islands and lives!
Man I certainly hope, but from my previous experience (two previous), help rarely reaches the people on the ground, but i hope things are different this time around because the need is really great
It's such a shame and so frustrating to watch so I can't imagine how frustrating it must be on the ground. I know your island isn't a British territory but we're all left here wondering what's going on in the world when our own foreign aid can not be used to help our own islands such as Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands which were also devastated. As a result, less money and resources have been sent as it can't be taken from our 13bn foreign aid budget!
Best of luck for the future, I think you're long overdue some luck now!
Politics and politician, you know how they operate...Trinidad and Tobago are lending its hand so that's the bright spot, there are pledges from the Netherlands and France to help but these tend to focus on their people...America has Puerto Rico and other US territory to deal with...The other small islands that went for independence are just inflicting unnecessary suffering on their people...these Northern islands provided alot of opportunities to the entire Caribbean so there would be rippling effects felt throughout the Caribbean...things gonna be desperate for awhile as America close its door to immigrants, there isn't much place to run and these islands don't have any economic activity going...We would see how the insurance handle the situation but we definitely need some stimulus package because Tourism is everything...I wasn't impressive with how some of these mother countries reacted they were just focusing on their people and ignoring other nationals but I guess that the signal of protectionism, if you don't have papers then you are in deep shit and these are the people that work the hardest...some of these islands may stand a better chance with the Dutch but the British are very slow...I read the IMF is offering rapid credit line but most of these countries won't ask for help because of the terms and conditions...in these disasters you know which country got their shit together...just saddened that opportunities now are scarce with these islands struggling.
"because of the terms and conditions"
They might be quite correct to do so. International bankers are usually well-cloaked bloodsuckers.
On the flip side of things a lot of the economic mess some of the islands find themselves in are solely loans by these organization...we have a saying when dealing with them "better to ban your belly and suck salt" before accepting any package...Quite a few islands have gone under Structural Readjustment Program with the IMF, and within 5 years they are back to where to were and even worse in some cases...I am not to much of a big fan of their austerity policies crippling and causing unnecessary suffering...When you get a loan from them, they dictate down the salaries that public servants can get, added to that, the government of the day has to ignore the plight of their people to follow their guidelines...We are heavily dependent on Tourism, its bread and butter so its a tricky situation moving forward...We have some interesting politician in the region but very few are progressive or strategic so these bankers would always have them in their pockets and most of our institution are weak or heavily dependent on their funding so they can't shape policies or cause any meaningful change
"they dictate down the salaries that public servants can get, added to that, the government of the day has to ignore the plight of their people to follow their guidelines"
Yes, they effectively totally subvert any government that they are involved with. The cost of the loan is also sovereignty.
We have to fight on and create innovative financial instruments, more reasons why I am excited about what cryptocurrency can do and the impact it can have
Very good artical...tnx sir
Glad to read that you weren't injured physically. I'm glad that Jose and Maria took a different path than Irma, not damaging the island further.
Yep, that was a blessing but alot of rain with no roof, so its added work to clean
Sorry to hear about the rain. Hopefully you enter a drier weather pattern until shelter can be made available.
My wife lived on the island back in the early 90's so it has really hit her hard to see the destruction of a place that holds fond memories.
Its turning into a humanitarian disaster...people are out in the numbers trying to see how they can help but its all survival and all neighboring islands got hit so the situation is very desperate...Alot of Caribbean nationals that been living on the island for years that have been left with absolutely nothing and it took 11 days before we got any water...food is limited as you know the island imports everything...they are evacuating people now but islands of Puerto Rico, Dominica and Antigua took a beating as well, so the situation is really mess up, Trinidad and Tobago is helping but the other islands are really stretch out...my hope is that people remember the other nationals there as well...the french side closed its border which was extreme if you ask me and the gasoline is ration now, so I really don't know...with Dominica and Puerto Rico taking the headlines now, this might as well be a dead story with the news now
Do you guys have cell service? My wife has been working with people on the BVI's thru a Facebook page for support. Has anything like that been set up? Is the Dutch govt still helping?
My family is looking to help in whatever way possible. Let us know what is needed most and who to get in touch with.
As for what is happening on the ground, nothing really is happening but the King has made a number of promises. Telem is working and chippe has been up and down(Cell service). The Dutch are doing assessment and I am not to sure about any Facebook page but I know Countries like Trinidad and Tobago has been evacuating its citizens as the situation on the ground has really deteriorated. The Dutch has been flying out their people, mostly varying Caribbean national remaining. There are accepting funding through official channels but with my experience of those things very little if any help actually reach the people on the ground. The insurance folks are doing their assessment so we see how things go
https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2017/september/22/170922-uk-sets-up-joint-caribbean-coordination-cell-with-french-and-dutch-allies
https://www.government.nl/topics/hurricane-irma/news/2017/09/20/largest-naval-vessel-bringing-relief-supplies-to-caribbean
I attached the two best articles I could find about the relief effort on your island. I hope that these resources find their way to you and yours.
Thanks a million for the links, really appreciate it
Thank God I don't live there anymore. I read somewhere that there was also a prison outbreak after the hurricane. Do you know anything about that?
Thank you so much for the exclusive photos and I will surely keep checking up on your status.
Stay safe.
I won't say there was a prison break but the prison in Pointe Blanche suffered the faith of most building and that contributed to the Curfew as they tried to recapture those that escaped...overall the authorities reacted well given their limited resources but the coordination was very poor, the French side close off its border which was extreme if you ask me as folks were trying to find out about the family on the French side...Which part you used to live? I am usually in the Cole Bay/ Simpson Bay area...I took out much more photos and video but my tablet took in a lot of water, got it service but its only booting up to the startup page...Long live St Maarten, gonna be heading down to Aruba once I get the paperwork done, I love the Dutch islands man, you should definitely visit but it would really take alot to get the island back up and running, quite a few folks are heading to Curacao and others to the Netherlands...
I lived on the opposite side, I believe called Phillipsburg. I was actually up the mountain living right behind the prison. I also lived in the hotel called Pitusa for a few months as well.
I do hope all this works out for good. Perhaps the steem community will play a role in rebuilding those islands. That would be nice.
Yes that certainly would be great, probably you can suggest hosting the next Steemfest in the Caribbean that would be great making, I can definitely try my best to bring some awareness and I am pretty sure it would be something that would be welcome here...you can probably throw the idea around in the upcoming Steemfest
Man glad to hear you and the people around you are alive. I look forward to supporting your story. May your words guide you and the people around you to safety, health and wealth.
Thank you for words of support
I love to see people help!
Great job everyone!
@daudimitch brotha ill be sending $ from my post payout and some extra $. As much as I can. We talk in Discord if you need anything..
STAY STRONG!
Thanks a million man, well you were board from the beginning...I am heart touch by the love and support by you and @lexiconical as you continue to show support...just trying to see what move I can make
Brotha no need to thank me!
I feel for you! All I would want...
If I get in a jam one day... Be there for me...
... Please try to find a way to improve your position and inform me on discord if you need anything from my side...
Godbless U!
Thanks bro, I would certainly keep in touch
Hi daudimitch, I know that your in a rough time, dont worry everything will be back on track for you.. keep yah faith. Believe.. upvote and resteemed
Thanks alot man...One Love...I have been listening to Bob Marley song "Three Little Birds", so I am in good spirits, just trying to plan my way ahead, thanks for the love and support
My brother is has stMartin also he waits to be repatriated in France for several days, him to leave its house to return at our parent's but the island is completely blocked. Remain strong < 3
Yea, the airport is basically gone, it would really take alot, they are mainly focus on evacuating people out...the focus is the clean up and hopefully reconstructing quickly, I heard they want to reopen the airport within two weeks, but i think that wishful thinking...the french marines got the french side on a lock down