Hurricane Irma, rampaging across the Caribbean, has produced sustained winds at 295 kilometres per hour (183 miles per hour) for more than 33 hours, making it the longest-lasting, top-intensity cyclone ever recorded, France’s weather service said on September 7. / AFP PHOTO / DUTCH DEFENSE MINISTRY / GERBEN VAN ES /
(Agence France Presse) — Hurricane Irma has churned through a string of Caribbean islands, many of them famed for their pristine beauty and tropical climes, and threatens others.
Here are background details about these areas:
– Anguilla –
A group of flat and low-lying islands east of Puerto Rico, Anguilla is a self-governing overseas territory of Britain.
It is small (91 square kilometres/35 square miles) with a population estimated at around 17,000.
– Antigua and Barbuda –
These two islands make up the bulk of the English-speaking sovereign state of the same name that includes several other smaller islets.
About 80,000 of the residents of the former British colony live on the island of Antigua and 1,600 on Barbuda.
Tourism has replaced sugar production as the mainstay of the economy, which was hit by the 2008 financial crisis.
– Bahamas –
A prosperous chain of hundreds of low and flat islands between Cuba and Florida, the Bahamas is a popular stop-off for cruise tourists and also an international banking centre, although in centuries past it was known for piracy.
The former British colony was granted independence in 1973 and is today home to around 330,000 people.
– Barbados –
Lying about 350 kilometres (217 miles) northeast of Venezuela, relatively wealthy Barbados was uninhabited when first settled by the British in the 1600s, becoming independent in 1966.
Its economy was historically based on the cultivation of sugar, boosted by African slaves, but it too has moved into tourism and offshore banking.
– British Virgin Islands –
Just east of Puerto Rico, this English-speaking British overseas territory is home to roughly 28,000 people. Made up of around 50 small islands, including Richard Branson’s Necker Island, it is a tax haven and prized tourist destination.
– US Virgin Islands –
The United States Virgin Islands are made up of three principal islands: Saint-John, Saint-Thomas, and Saint-Croix, with other surrounding minor islands. Previously colonized by Denmark, they were sold to the US in 1916.
– Dominican Republic –
The Spanish-speaking country makes up the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola, lying between Cuba and Puerto Rico, and which it shares with Haiti.
Significantly more prosperous than Haiti, with which its has tense relations, it employs many migrants from its neighbor on its sugar plantations.
Its population of 10.65 million has benefited from a drop in poverty levels in the past years. Around 30 percent lived below the poverty line in 2016.
– Haiti –
One of the poorest countries in the world, this former French colony has yet to recover from a massive earthquake in 2010 that cut it off from the rest of the world for 24 hours and killed over 250,000 people.
The quake left 1.2 million homeless and shattered much of the frail infrastructure of a country wracked by political instability, corruption, with extreme poverty affecting most of its population of 10.4 million.
– Puerto Rico –
The former Spanish colony was taken over by the United States at the end of the 19th century but retains a proud cultural identity and its own government.
High unemployment has contributed to nearly one in 10 of its people leaving over the past decade, while debt of more than $70 billion (58.34 billion euros) has left the island basically bankrupt.
– St Barts –
A haven for the rich and famous, the beautiful French-administered territory also known as Saint Barthelemy lies about 2,000 km southeast of Florida.
A volcanic island surrounded by smaller islets and reefs, it is just 21 sq. kms with a population of 9,500.
Celebrity visitors include Gwyneth Paltrow and Beyonce.
– St Martin/Sint Maarten –
This island of 86 sq. km comprises a French-governed section called St Martin and a smaller Dutch part known as Sint Maarten, a split that dates back to the 17th century.
More than half of its population of 80,000 live in Sint Maarten, which has its own government and parliament and is also the destination for most of the island’s tourists.
US President Donald Trump owns a luxury property on the island.
– Turks and Caicos –
A group of around 30 islands that is home to around 52,500 people, this little-known territory is a self-governing part of the United Kingdom and situated about 1,000 km southeast of the United States, a major tourist market.
