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Thursday 21 sepTember 2017
Maria devastates regions of Puerto Rico Maria thrusts Dominica

Continued from Front going to pass before we and other austerity leader into the spotlight
can recover from this,” he measures imposed by a
“The information we said. federal board overseeing By CARLISLE BAPTISTE
have received is not Gov. Ricardo Rossello the island’s finances. PETER ORSI
encouraging. It’s a imposed a curfew from 6 Rossello urged people ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) — As Hurricane Maria ham-
system that has destroyed p.m. to 6 a.m. daily until to have faith: “We mered Dominica with 160 mph (260 kph) winds Mon-
everything in its path.” Saturday to allow rescue are stronger than any day, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit hunkered down in
There were no immediate crews and officials to hurricane. Together, we his official residence and turned to social media to tell
reports of any deaths or respond to the hurricane’s will rebuild.” of the storm’s fury, each post more dire than the previ-
serious injuries on the island. aftermath. He asked President Donald ous.
As people waited in “We are at a critical Trump to declare the island Maria’s “merciless” winds were turning sheet metal into
shelters or took cover moment in the effort to a disaster zone, a step that deadly projectiles and “we dare not look out,” Sker-
inside stairwells, bathrooms help thousands of Puerto would open the way to rit said on Facebook, praying for the tempest to end.
“Rough! Rough! Rough!”
Less than 30 minutes later, he wrote that his roof had
been torn off and the home was filling with water: “I am
at the complete mercy of the hurricane.”
“I have been rescued,” he finally said late Monday,
without giving details.
Skerrit’s dramatic posts drew the attention of many in
the outside world and at least momentarily shined a
spotlight on the 45-year-old leader of this tiny Carib-
bean nation, as it was ravaged by the second cyclone
to clobber the island in the last three years.
His messages were practically the only information the
world had about Dominica’s fate as the massive storm
roared across a ruggedly beautiful landscape at the
eastern edge of the Caribbean and cut off communi-
cations with the outside world.
“Initial reports are of widespread devastation,” he
wrote in a longer statement Tuesday morning after the
posts about his roof and rescue.
Skerrit is no stranger to the medium. Even before the
hurricane hit, his Facebook page frequently featured
multiple new posts each day, sharing everything from
photos of public works projects to Skerrit meeting with
One of 19 municipal police officers arrives at the Emergency Management Agency after being
removed from their flooded station by rescue personnel during the impact of Maria, a Category 5 constituents, visiting dignitaries or a Jamaican reggae
hurricane that hit the eastern region of the island, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 20, musician who uses the stage name “Sizzla.”
2017. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Maria has lost its major hurricane status, after rak- As of Tuesday afternoon the page had attracted more
ing Puerto Rico. But forecasters say some strengthening is in the forecast and Maria could again than 35,000 “likes” and 38,000 followers — together
become a major hurricane by Thursday. nearly the equal of Dominica’s entire population of
(AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) around 74,000 — though it’s not clear how many came
and closets, Maria brought Ricans that urgently need federal aid.Many people as a result of Skerrit’s newfound celebrity.
down cell towers and aid and to assess the feared extended power Born in 1972 in the village of Vieille Case on Domini-
power lines, snapped great damage caused by outages would further sink ca’s north coast, Skerrit studied at the University of New
trees, tore off roofs and Hurricane Maria,” he said. businesses struggling amid Mexico before transferring and graduating from the
unloaded at least 20 inches “Maintaining public order a recession that has lasted University of Mississippi with degrees in psychology and
(50 centimeters) of rain. will be essential.” more than a decade. English.
Widespread flooding was As of 5 p.m. EDT, Maria “This is going to be a After returning to Dominica, he became a member of
reported, with dozens of had weakened into a disaster,” said Jean Robert Parliament, a minister of Youth Affairs and Sports and a
cars half-submerged in Category 2 hurricane with Auguste, who owns two minister of education. He was sworn in as prime minis-
some neighborhoods and winds of 110 mph (175 French restaurants and ter in 2004 after then-leader Pierre Charles died of an
many streets turned into kph). It was centered just sought shelter at a San apparent heart attack. At just 31 he was the youngest
rivers. People calling local off the northwestern corner Juan hotel. “We haven’t prime minister since the country became independent
radio stations reported that of Puerto Rico, moving at made any money this of the United Kingdom in 1978.
doors were being torn off 12 mph (19 kph). month.” Skerrit has won re-election multiple times since then,
their hinges and a water It was expected to pass off More than 11,000 people and today his close-cropped hair is thinning and re-
tank flew away. the northeastern coast of — and more than 580 ceding at the front.
Felix Delgado, mayor the Dominican Republic pets — were in shelters, Married with two children, according to his Facebook
of the northern coastal late Wednesday and authorities said. bio, he is a self-described liberal and Roman Catho-
city of Catano, told The Thursday. Along the island’s northern lic who peppers his public remarks with references to
Associated Press that 80 Even before the storm, coast, an emergency God, which is common across the Caribbean.
percent of the 454 homes Puerto Rico’s electrical grid medical station in the This isn’t the first time Skerrit has become the public
in a neighborhood known was crumbling and the town of Arecibo lost its face of his country during disaster. In August 2015, Trop-
as Juana Matos were island was in dire condition roof, while communication ical Storm Erika devastated the island with floods and
destroyed. The fishing financially. was severed with several landslides that destroyed more than 370 homes and
community near San Juan Puerto Rico is struggling to emergency management killed 30 people.
Bay was hit with a storm restructure a portion of its posts. A hospital and a The prime minister made frequent videos and posted
surge of more than 4 feet $73 billion debt, and the police station reported them to social media to give updates and try to raise
(1.2 meters), he said. government has warned it broken windows, and a aid for his country.
“Months and months and is running out of money as tree fell on an ambulance. “We will need help, my friend, we will need help of all
months and months are it fights against furloughs q kinds,” he wrote Tuesday. q