Curfew imposed on British Virgin Islands ahead of Maria Hurricane

LONDON – 19 September 2017: British Foreign Office said on Tuesday that local authorities have imposed a curfew on the British Virgin Islands ahead of Hurricane Maria and after the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Irma that strongly hit the islands a week ago, the BBC reported.

The British Foreign Office advised nationals against travel to the islands and warned residents to taking shelters at the areas expected to be hit by Hurricane Maria.

The First Secretary of State, Damian Green, chaired a COBR meeting this afternoon to discuss the Government’s response to Hurricane Irma and preparations for Hurricane Maria.

A statement released by the Foreign Office said: "We remain concerned that Hurricane Maria, which is strengthening as it approaches the Leeward Islands, could hit the UK’s Overseas Territories in the Caribbean already affected as well as Montserrat.

FCO, DFID and military teams are working closely with the Governors in the Overseas Territories to ensure we are doing all we can to support the Governments of the islands affected.

Ministers discussed the preparations that have been put in place:

Over 1300 military troops are staying put in the region – either on the islands already affected or in locations from where they will be able to readily deploy once Maria has passed.

An additional 42 strong military resilience team has been deployed forward to British Virgin Islands prior to Hurricane Maria ready to support additional needs there.

A military reconnaissance team has been put on standby to go to Montserrat to assess need if it is hit by Hurricane Maria.