News Release
NPS photo
News Release Date: September 28, 2017
Contact: Sandy Snell-Dobert, 970-481-5835
Contact: Dana Soehn, 865-712-4928
Contact: Elizabeth Stern, 202-230-2974
Photos of Hurricanes Irma and Maria damage and response
Homestead, Fla. – A new deployment of the National Park Service Eastern Incident Management Team (EIMT) has been dedicated to the NPS response to the impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria to national parks in the Caribbean. Based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the team is coordinating resources already in the field along with incoming resources.
Approximately 39 National Park Service employees from 16 states and 27 national parks outside the impacted areas are working in the parks or are en route. Additional resources are expected in the coming days as conditions allow the NPS to move them to the island. The team will continue to prioritize support for employee emergency needs, establish communications, and provide critical supplies. All employees from the six national parks in the Caribbean have been accounted for. The team has begun damage assessments and emergency stabilization efforts across the parks.
The NPS Motor Vessel Fort Jefferson, which departed Key West on Monday, arrived this afternoon with 24 tons of supplies and equipment for the emergency stabilization of the national parks in the Caribbean. The 110-foot vessel is normally used to transport staff and supplies to Dry Tortugas National Park.
All six national parks in the Caribbean remain closed.
News from the field - September 28:
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, and have assisted the community of La Perla with non-potable water.
- The NPS MV Fort Jefferson has arrived in San Juan with supplies and equipment for the emergency stabilization of the national parks in the Caribbean.
Additional updates on the status of these parks can be found at http://go.nps.gov/hurricane.
~NPS
Last updated: September 29, 2017