Several media outlets are reporting that Barbuda has been completely destroyed by Hurricane Irma, which claimed the life of an infant and heavily damaged 90 percent of the island’s buildings and vehicles.
According to The Nation, Gaston Browne, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, said, "Barbuda now is literally rubble.”
According to ABC News, Browne said the hurricane destroyed 90 percent of its structures and vehicles. Speaking later on CNN, Browne said that 95 percent of properties in Barbuda were damaged, with up to 30 percent demolished.
He estimated that 95 percent of all buildings had suffered at least some damage, according to the ABC News report. Many structures lost their roofs and others were completely destroyed. He said parts of the island are “literally underwater,” according to the report.
According to Fox News, Browne confirmed that one infant died as Irma slammed Barbuda when the baby's mother was trying to escape a destroyed property.
According to The Nation, Browne said "at least 60 percent of people are homeless" and that "even where they are sheltering they are in damaged homes." According to ABC News, Browne said the island was "barely habitable" and the damage "unprecedented."
In addition to the destroyed homes, the island's institutions, including its schools and its single hospital, have been reduced to rubble, according to The Nation.
Earlier in the day, Browne had better news to report as it was announced that Antigua sustained only minor damage from the hurricane. Most residential, business and hotel properties in Antigua remain largely unscathed and the main roads have already been cleared of the debris of fallen trees. The V.C. Bird International Airport was slated to open by 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for more Hurricane Irma updates and be sure to follow Travel Agent’s Joe Pike on Twitter @TravelPike and Instagram @pike5260.
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