FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 2017 update to yesterday’s release
Fort-de-France, Martinique—September 19, 2017—As was the case with Hurricane Irma, the French island of Martinique did not experience a direct hit by this second powerful storm and was spared after yesterday’s close encounter with Hurricane Maria.
Quoted by Reuters in a press briefing today in Paris, Jacques Witkowski, France's head of civil protection and crisis response, said: “In Martinique, reconnaissance operations are still underway but already we can see that there is no significant damage."
After an earlier statement related to Hurricane Irma, in which she expressed her deep sympathies and thoughts “to our brothers and sisters of the islands stricken by this unprecedented storm,” Karine Mousseau, Martinique Tourism Commissioner declared today: “We are all deeply saddened by the devastation experienced by Dominica, Martinique’s neighbor to the North, and pray that all of our friends who are now in the storm’s path will be spared the worst of this powerful hurricane.”
She went on to say: “In cooperation and with the assistance of the Martinique Prefecture, we will soon have a more detailed update. In the meanwhile there are two important facts to report: the Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport re-opened this morning at 9:00 a.m. and ports are scheduled to re-open tomorrow.”++
++The re-opening of the ports of Martinique has been confirmed today, Wednesday, September 20, 2017