Caribbean Residents Fend Off Looters After Irma; Branson Urges Marshall Plan
Food shortages and looting on Caribbean islands hammered by Hurricane Irma sparked growing criticism of the government response, prompting British billionaire Richard Branson to call for a Marshall plan to help the region recover.
Irma ripped through the tiny easterly Leeward Islands last week as one of the Atlantics strongest ever storms, killing two dozen people, uprooting trees, tearing down power cables and severely damaging the homes of poor locals and the global jet-set alike.
Across the whole of the Caribbean, Irma killed nearly 40 people and devastated basic services, tearing cracks in law and order. Looting erupted on some Caribbean islands where residents and tourists were stranded with little food, shelter or drinking water.
Jenn Manes, who writes a blog on U.S. Virgin Island St. John, detailed a list of robberies and break-ins on the island after Irma struck, saying she had to install a bar on the inside of her door to keep out would-be burglars.
Read more: http://www.sanjuanweeklypr.com/pdf/Sep-13-17/international.pdf (page 1 of 4)