News Release

NPS Incident Management Team Hurricane Update for the Caribbean Parks, Wednesday, September 27, 2017 – 7:30pm

Date: September 27, 2017
Contact: Dana Soehn, 865-712-4928
Contact: Sandy Snell-Dobert, 970-481-5835
Contact: Elizabeth Stern, 202-230-2974

Incident information

Photos of Hurricanes Irma and Maria damage and response

Homestead, Fla. –National Park Service (NPS) incident response experts are coordinating the bureau’s response to Caribbean parks impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. A new deployment of the Eastern Incident Management Team (EIMT) has been dedicated to these in San Juan, Puerto Rico to coordinate resources already in the field along with incoming resources.  The NPS Intermountain Incident Management Team (IIMT) will take over incident response coordination for South Florida and the Atlantic coast on September 28.

Approximately 39 National Park Service employees from 16 states and 26 national parks outside the impacted areas are working in the parks or are en route, with additional resources expected in the coming days. The team will continue to prioritize support for employee emergency needs, establish communications, and provide critical supplies. At this time, all employees from the six National Parks have been accounted for. The team will has begun damage assessments and emergency stabilization efforts across the Caribbean parks.

All six national parks in the Caribbean remain closed.

News from the field - September 27:

Caribbean National Parks

Virgin Islands National Park, St. John – CLOSED

• All employees have been accounted for.
• Information Technology Specialists delivered telecom equipment and are working to restore communications, through a satellite connected phone line.
• Emergency supplies have been gathered and distributed to NPS staff.

Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, St. John – CLOSED

• All employees have been accounted for.

Christiansted National Historic Site, St. Croix – CLOSED

• All employees have been accounted for.

Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix – CLOSED

• All employees have been accounted for.

Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, St. Croix – CLOSED

• All employees have been accounted for.

San Juan National Historic Site, Puerto Rico – CLOSED

• All employees have been accounted for.
• An Incident Command Post has been established at the park’s Discovery Center.
• Emergency supplies have been gathered and distributed to NPS staff.
• NPS staff are coordinating with federal agencies and community leaders to explore options to collaborate and share resources.
• Docking arrangements for MV Fort Jefferson have been made, and NPS staff are preparing for the ship’s arrival.

Additional updates on the status of these parks can be found at http://go.nps.gov/hurricane.

~NPS~