Mapp Extends State of Emergency For The Territory Until Feb. 2 ‘To Continue Protecting Lives and Property’

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — “In order to continue protecting the lives and property of residents of the United States Virgin Islands,” Gov. Kenneth Mapp said that he has extended the State of the Emergency until next month.

The State of Emergency declared effective on September 5, 2017 at 12:01 a.m., due to the projected path of Hurricane Irma, has been renewed.

The State of Emergency, along with all terms previously declared and ordered, will continue in effect through February 2, 2018, unless earlier lifted or extended by his orders, Mapp proclaimed in an official order.

“As the territory of the Virgin Islands of the United States has suffered an emergency and a major disaster due to Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the need for a state of emergency continues to exist in the territory,” Mapp wrote.

John F. McCarthy is a veteran journalist in the Caribbean, writing from the "Decision Space" where survival meets the surreal. His reporting steel was tempered by a lineage of legendary editors and broadcasters, including Ed Wynn Brant (The Bomb), Owen Eschenroder (Ann Arbor News), Lynelle Emanuel (BVI Beacon), and Charles Thanas (WSVI-TV). Alongside longtime colleague Kenneth C. "Casey" Clark, McCarthy has navigated the front lines of the territory’s history—from the 1997 volcanic "snow" to every major hurricane since Hugo. Known for leaning out of doorless helicopters to capture the "money shot," McCarthy now edits the V.I. Free Press, providing the essential link between the island's colonial past and its SpaceX future.