Puerto Rico faces floods, misery after Maria 'obliteration'

Yahoo – AFP, Hector RETAMAL and Edgardo RODRIGUEZ, September 21, 2017

San Juan (AFP) - Flash floods brought fresh misery to Puerto Rico on Thursday after its infrastructure was shattered by Hurricane Maria as President Donald Trump declared the US territory a disaster zone.

The hurricane, which Trump said had "absolutely obliterated" the island, left its 3.4 million people totally without power and officials said it may be months before it is fully restored.

The storm was blamed for 10 deaths in the Caribbean, including a man in northern Puerto Rico's Bayamon district who was struck by a board he had used to cover his windows.

"Puerto Rico is absolutely obliterated," Trump told reporters after declaring the island a disaster area in a move that will free up emergency relief funding.

"Puerto Rico is in a very, very, very tough shape," he said.

Though the storm had moved back out to sea, authorities declared a flash flood warning for all of Puerto Rico as "torrential" rains continued to lash the island.

"If possible, move to higher ground NOW!" the National Weather Service station in San Juan said in a tweet, calling the flooding "catastrophic."

Puerto Rico was expected to receive 20 to 30 inches (51 to 76 centimeters) of rain through Saturday, with some isolated areas receiving 35 inches, the National Hurricane Center said.

The rain had turned some roads in the US territory into muddy brown rivers, impassable to all but the largest of vehicles.

Toppled trees, street signs and power cables were strewn across roads that were also littered with debris.

Although Maria has now passed over Puerto Rico and lost some of its power, it is still packing winds of 115 miles per hour (185 kilometers per hour) and moving northwards towards the Turks and Caicos Islands after brushing the Dominican Republic.

'Totally destroyed'

Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rossello, who called Maria "the most devastating storm in a century" said the island was having to contend with mass flooding and a total breakdown of its power and telecommunications infrastructure.

Ricardo Ramos, who heads the island's electricity board, said it could take months before power is fully restored.

"We recognize that the system, you know, has been totally destroyed," he said of the electricity network.

While the island had suffered major blackouts from previous hurricanes, Ramos said the impact would be felt much more keenly this time.

"Everybody uses, of course, their social media, and the kids play on their electronic games and video games, and now really the customer has changed," he told CNN.

"I guess it's a good time for dads to buy a glove and ball and change the way you entertain your children and the way you are going to go to school and the way you are going to cook for gas stoves other than electric."

Under curfew

In San Juan, where tens of thousands rode out the storm in shelters or else hunkered down in their homes, residents told of their terrifying ordeal.

"This was absolutely the worst experience we've had with a hurricane," Kim Neis, an American who has lived on the island for 30 years, told AFP.

"None of the others were anything like as intense as this."

Rossello imposed a 6:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew until Saturday and warned of flooding and mudslides.

"I urge the people of Puerto Rico to commit to peace, understanding, and good judgment during these difficult times for our island," he said.

There were reports of looting and authorities said 10 people had been arrested.

Dominica devastation

Maria has already torn through several Caribbean islands, leaving at least seven people dead on Dominica.

In the French territory of Guadeloupe, one person was killed by a falling tree as Maria hit, while another died on the seafront.

At least two are missing after their boat sank off the French territory, while 40 percent of households were without power.

Strong winds were recorded in the Dominican Republic on Thursday due to Maria but there were no immediate reports of casualties or serious damage.

'Storm of the century': Hurricane Maria pummels Puerto Rico https://t.co/1Qo3xDAszK pic.twitter.com/rxg4gCfSw1

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 21, 2017

Crime and unemployment dog Guadeloupe

Social crisis and lack of police resources lead to wave of delinquency among disaffected young people

Guardian Weekly, Laurent Borredon, Tuesday 27 December 2011

Women hold a banner reading: 'Stop the slavery' during a demonstration
 in 2010 in Pointe-à-Pitre, on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe,
against high living costs. Photograph: AFP

There is a growing sense of insecurity in Guadeloupe. This is not to say that crime figures have gone unnoticed in the past: Guadeloupe has France's highest crime rate. But people have started talking about an "outbreak of delinquency", "increasingly violent minors" and gangs.

Policymakers have accused the central government of negligence, Paris has blamed the local authorities, and both sides agree that the media have not helped. The facts were set out in a confidential report, commissioned by the interior ministry and its overseas counterpart, delivered in July. The report describes the "impregnation of Guadeloupean society by violence" and the "development of violent gangs". Above all it registers a "distinct deterioration" in 2009-10.

On an island with a population of 400,000, news travels fast and everyone has noticed the wave of petty crime. It is a direct threat to the tourist trade. After 6pm, the old town centre of Pointe-à-Pitre, a port of call for Caribbean cruises, is taken over by drug-dealing and prostitution.

The Socialist (PS) leader of the regional council, Victorin Lurel, made violence and insecurity the central theme of a congress last month. Some claimed this was a political ploy; he belongs to PS candidate François Hollande's campaign staff for the coming French presidential election.

Over several weeks a team formed by Lurel interviewed policymakers, magistrates, police, social workers and sociologists. All this groundwork was reduced to single phrase that a contributing criminologist let slip: "It is striking to observe that the majority of crimes and offences are committed by Guadeloupeans of African descent." This caused an outcry. "An unfortunate statement," admits Gladys Démocrite, who co-ordinated the survey. "What she meant was that outstanding identity issues may generate violence."

So ultimately leftwing councillors and separatist groups can agree on at least one point: Guadeloupean identity, the legacy of slavery and the social crisis are the three main factors driving delinquency and violence.

Eric Jalton, an independent leftwing member of parliament, blames "the social situation", with more than half the island's young people unemployed. "We are moving away from European standards and Guadeloupe is caught in a downward spiral of underdevelopment," says the separatist Luc Reinette. "We were lucky the violence did not take a more violent form," adds Jacques Bangou, leftwing leader of the Pointe-à-Pitre council.

Convinced the problems are due to a social crisis and the lack of resources, local politicians have been slow to use their powers for law and order. They are "out of touch", says Jean-Michel Gobardhan, the head of the UNSA-Police trade union.

There is certainly one person who stands out as a potential model, at the head of a municipality in striking contrast with the mood elsewhere. Baie Mahault is on the strip of land connecting Grande Terre to Basse Terre. It benefits from the huge Jarry trading and industrial estate (3,500 businesses, 15,000 jobs). But the independent council leader, Ary Chalus, is convinced it is a matter of "willpower". The council went looking for funds far and wide, even in Brussels.

What matters most are social policies targeting the young, with a job-seeking unit, free driving lessons, assistance for prospective entrepreneurs, work integration schemes and even a course preparing candidates for the exam to join the municipal police. This is backed by law-and-order policies that are unique on Guadeloupe, with 40 police officers patrolling the municipality round the clock. At Pointe à Pitre, there are 21 and they concentrate mainly on parking and street markets.

The congress in November concluded with recommendations on youth support. In a more daring move, Lurel suggested buying vehicles for the police.The existing fleet, designed for the roads and climate of mainland France, is unsuitable. There are times, often several weeks, when every single patrol vehicle is out of action.

End of story? Maybe not. On 17 December an unusual event reawakened the embers. A man tried to attack Lurel with a machete at a neighbourhood party in Basse Terre. Three police officers managed to restrain the assailant. He turned out to be a regular offender, much the worse for drink and cocaine. Delinquency as usual in Guadeloupe.

This article originally appeared in Le Monde

Thief steals almost $250.000 via plane`s toilet

Antara News, Fri, March 4, 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News/AFP) - An ingenious thief swiped almost a quarter million dollars on a flight in the Caribbean after sneaking into the cash-laden cargo hold via the toilet, police said Thursday.

Air Antilles / ATR-42 Turboprop plane

A Brink`s security employee placed three sacks of cash containing a total $1.65 million in the hold of the Air Antilles plane before it headed from the French island of Guadeloupe to the Dutch island of Saint Martin.

The security guard took his seat on the ATR-42 turboprop plane but when the flight landed 40 minutes later it was discovered that $236,809 were missing from the sacks.

Police are seeking a man who complained he felt ill and spent most of the journey in the toilet. In fact, he was removing panels to gain access to the hold in the rear of the plane.

Shortly before landing, the unnamed man -- who was travelling with a woman who appeared concerned about his health - asked a hostess for an ambulance to meet him on the tarmac, witnesses said.

When the ambulance arrived, the man said he felt suddenly better and walked out of the airport without having to go through the normal security checks and disappeared, police said.

Cleaners who found bundles of notes in the toilet raised the alarm. The woman travelling with him was questioned in the baggage arrival hall but did not have any of the missing money.

Editor: Priyambodo RH