In Shadow of Puerto Rico's Nightmare, Virgin Islands and Others Facing Intense Struggle

While much media attention has rightly been focused on the devastation in Puerto Rico this week as calls have grown louder for President Donald Trump to deploy more resources to help the recovery from Hurricane Maria, the White House’s inaction has caused attention to be pulled away from the U.S. Virgin Islands and other parts of the Caribbean that were also ravaged by the storm.

48,000 people in the U.S. Virgin Islands are without power following both Maria and Hurricane Irma, which made landfall two weeks earlier. More than 600 residents are still in shelters across St. John, St. Thomas, Water Island, and St. Croix, which was spared much of the damage of Irma but overtaken by floodwaters after Maria.

Governor Kenneth Mapp has been asking the public for help via Twitter and in a radio interview on WBUR:

“We need help,” Mapp said just after Maria hit last week, as the islands were assessing the second wave of destruction. “With our FEMA partners and our cruise ship partners, we’re bringing in a lot of food, water, tarpaulins, personal hygiene packs, cots and blankets. That’s really the immediacy of the need. We’re asking folks who can to go to USVI Recovery and they can donate there.”

The economy of the U.S. Virgin Islands “evaporated pretty much overnight,” according to Clinton Gaskins, a restaurant owner interviewed by the New York Times. Tourism revenue makes up about a third of the island’s gross national product, and the marine industry was also hit hard. As the Times reported, following Maria: