Recovery efforts in the Caribbean now take a back seat to preparation for a new hurricane

With recovery efforts in hard-hit Caribbean islands still in a fragile state, the region began preparing for another powerful hurricane that could begin lashing the Leeward Islands as early as late Monday afternoon.

St. Kitts Foreign Affairs Minister Mark Brantley said it was time for prayers as Hurricane Maria took aim on his tiny island. “We are busy preparing for Hurricane Maria and praying for God's mercy,” he said on Twitter.

Just over two weeks ago, the islands of the Caribbean were preparing for the arrivals of another monster storm, Irma — the most powerful Atlantic hurricane in recorded history.

In its 2 p.m. advisory, the National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Maria was moving west northwest at about 10 mph per hour and its eye was expected to move through the Leeward Islands by late Monday afternoon or evening. Winds could climb to 150 mph, they said, as the storm heads toward Puerto Rico.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Martinique, St. Lucia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands. Hurricane watches were in effect for Puerto Rioc, Saba and St. Eustius, St. Maarten, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, and Anguilla.

Although St. Kitts and Nevis and Dominica emerged relatively unscathed from Hurricane Irma, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, which are also in Maria’s crosshairs were among the most devastated islands.

Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit urged residents to take preparations for Maria seriously: “We should not take this storm lightly,” he said. “It is not because the last one skipped us that we should believe this one will skip us.We have to treat every storm with the same level of preparation and preparedness.”

Schools and all non-essential government businesses were closed Monday and shelters were opened.

Valencia Grant, press secretary for St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Timothy Harris, announced on twitter that all schools in the federation will close at noon Monday and government offices at 2 p.m. Also, the government was canceling all independence activities scheduled for Tuesday.

Meanwhile in a series of tweets on Monday morning, St. Kitts Foreign Affairs Minister Mark Brantley asked for prayers as Hurricane Maria threatened the island and the Leewards.

"We are busy preparing for HurricaneMaria and praying for God's mercy," he tweeted out.

Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit in a 11:15 a.mpress briefing updated the island-nation on preparations.

"I want to say to Dominicans this is not a time for heroism," he said. "This much water in Dominica is dangerous given our terrain, and therefore persons should not wait for something to happen in order to take action."

The next few hours, he told his citizens, should be focused on "clean up around the house, and your properties rather than stockpiling weeks of food and other supplies. This is not a system that will linger very long therefore the goal must not be on stockpiling supplies but mitigating damage caused by flying objects as well as fallen trees.

The focus now should be removing all the potential hazards around our homes and properties. He also asked citizens to minimize the use of phones and large data files so as to not overload the communications system.

"Please survey your community now and think of any elderly or indignant person whom the authorities may not have reached, who you feel could be exposed or vulnerable in these conditions," he said.

He said there was adequate supplies on island to treat citizens should the need occur. And the government was prepared to call a countrywide curfew should it need to in order to prevent looting and other lawless actions.

He also asked for those in flood-prone areas to evacuate to either homes of friends and relatives, or a nearby shelter.

"We should treat the approaching hurricane very seriously. Take no chances," he said.

If there is one slight reason for optimism as Maria approaches it is that for the past week, residents and tourists have been evacuated from islands that have been stripped of electricity, running water and food in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line ships became rescue vessels last week, carrying Irma victims and tourists to safety.

Residents of St. Martin also have been scrambling to get off the island, which is shared by the Dutch and the French.

The twin island nation of Antigua and Barbuda was walloped unequally by Irma. Barbuda is so devastated that the decision was made to evacuate everyone who remained after Irma’s passage. Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that 95 percent of properties on the island were a loss.

Antigua and Barbuda could get hit again. A tropical storm warning has been posted for Antigua and Barbuda as well as for Saba and St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Anguilla.

Even as Hurricane Maria churned toward the islands, a 1,800-ton barge offloaded food and emergency supplies in the British Virgin Islands. The relief came from the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well as farmers and business leaders.

But the need to prepare for a hurricane with a potential storm surge of six to nine feet above normal tide levels is putting relief efforts on hold.

Miami Herald staff writer Jacqueline Charles contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 18, 2017 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Recovery efforts in the Caribbean now take a back seat to preparation for a new hurricane."