Irma hit the USVI September 6th, and Maria hit September 20th.

​

When Hurricane Maria hit the Virgin Islands, they were still suffering the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, the biggest hurricane to hit the Atlantic Coast in a century. 

​

A day after Irma, FEMA and military/disaster support arrived on the island to aide those who lost their homes or were in danger. Rations of food and water were given out to people in need. A curfew was set in place, though people broke it constantly.

​

The 'Majesty of the Seas' cruise took people to Puerto Rico, and the 'Norwegian Sky' brought people to Miami. Many cruise lines had their ships bring clothes and rations to the Virgin Islands post Irma.

​

Many people lived without power until February 2018, 4 months after the first storm. It was reported that the island 'was 80% destroyed' by Irma; and then came Maria.

​

Maria, another category 5 hurricane tore through the Caribbean on September 20th, 2 weeks later, further damaging the islands. Maria, unlike Irma, came through in the night, through all of the broken windows, wall-less houses, and the rubble.

​

Within two short weeks, the Virgin Islands were struck by 2 category 5 hurricanes. They left immense destruction but we recieved close to no media coverage. Of course we [the people of the islands] understood, we were smaller than and had less of an economy than say Puerto Rico or Florida, but we were left hurt and broken, and now in April, we have still not fully recovered. People still lives without roofs, buildings still lay destroyed, but hearts are not heavy.

​

Let the greenery be a symbol of strength. After 2 hurricanes and a fresh start, we moved forward and began to rebuild not only our homes, but our lives.

​

​

​