News Release

NPS Incident Management Team Hurricane Update for the Caribbean Parks, Saturday, October 7, 2017 – 6pm

Date: October 7, 2017
Contact: Rob Parrish, 917-509-4426

Incident information

Photos of Hurricanes Irma and Maria damage and response

San Juan, P.R. – The NPS Eastern Incident Management Team continued its efforts to assist national parks in the Caribbean with their recovery from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The primary focus remains to supply the impacted parks, park employees, and their families with the resources and tools necessary to recover and return to normal operations. The team is temporarily based in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Operations Center in San Juan.

All six national parks in the Caribbean remain closed.

Virgin Islands National Park, St. John – CLOSED

• Assessments of damage to natural and cultural resources are continuing.
• A 19-member Arrowhead Hot Shot crew from Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks is en route to the park to support road clearing and debris removal.

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

Christiansted National Historic Site, St. Croix – CLOSED

• Crews are clearing debris, hazard limbs and trees from park areas.

Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix – CLOSED

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

San Juan National Historic Site, Puerto Rico – CLOSED

• IMT staff distributed almost 200 tarps in La Perla, a small community located on park property.
• The park headquarters remains without power or communications. Work continues to restore power and communications to the park.
• All of old town San Juan, including park headquarters at Castillo San Cristóbal, the community of La Perla (within the park’s boundary), and El Morro are now back on town water. The system, however, is still on backup generation.

~NPS~