CRUZ BAY — An emergency response worker in St. John told CNN’s Jake Tapper that everyone there should be evacuated from the island as there is “no sustainable option” for them if they stay.
The CNN report this afternoon mentioned that 100 of the electrical power infrastructure in St. John has been destroyed and that it could take three months or longer before electricity is restored by the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA).
CNN also interviewed Florida Sen. Bill Nelson who said that he had heard the federal government plans to evacuate people on St. John to the Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Medical Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The island of Barbuda with a population of 1,800 began a voluntary evacuation program on Sept. 7 after about 95 percent of its buildings and homes were damaged by Hurricane Irma on Sept. 5.
St. John has a population of about 4,170 residents on a 20-square-mile island.
FUTURE FOR ST. JOHNIANS? The Veteran’s Affairs Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico.