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PHILIPSBURG:--- People of St. Maarten, as you all know, Hurricane Maria is heading in our direction. It has developed into a major Category 4 hurricane.

St. Maarten has been under Tropical Storm warning since 11:00 am. Maria is expected to pass close to us on Tuesday. We should start experiencing the effects from around 12 noon.

We can expect up to 6 inches of rainfall and tropical storm force winds.
I can understand you saying: Oh, no, not again! Indeed, we seem to be under siege by these monster storms Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- On Sunday afternoon, September 17, 2017, the Government of Sint Maarten - Governor Drs. Eugene Holiday and the full Council of Ministers - met with the mission team established by the Dutch Government, headed by Mr. Erwin Arkenbout and locally supported by the Representative of the Netherlands in Philipsburg (VNP), Mr. Chris Johnson.

The Dutch mission is offering assistance in the recovery and rebuilding phase of Sint Maarten in areas required and desired by the government of Sint Maarten Read more

Curfew Goes In Effect On Monday At 7Pm.

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Prime Minister William Marlin together with the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) makes it known as of Monday evening September 18th at 7 PM a CURFEW will go into effect until the passing of the Hurricane Maria and a damage assessment has been completed.

Everyone should be off the roads at that time as the Law Enforcement Authorities will be enforcing a Zero Tolerance for anyone breaking the curfew Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- On Sunday morning, the Prime Minister of Dominica, the Honorable Roosevelt Skerrit paid a brief courtesy visit to the Prime Minister of Sint Maarten, the Honorable William Marlin.

The Dominica Prime Minister said that he had to come personally to express sympathies to the government and people of Sint Maarten, because of the longstanding bond and friendship with Sint Maarten.

The Prime Minister expressed the willingness of his government to assist with water, dry goods and sometime next week, a shipment of provisions, plantains, and avocados will also be sent.

Sint Maarten’s Prime Minister gave a brief overview of the damage sustained and explained some of what was done already and what is still ongoing Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister The Honorable William Marlin of Sint Maarten releases the following briefing on the infrastructure, along with words of thanks. Please note that all was current at press time and is subject to change as work and talks progress.

ROADS
Main roads are cleared and work continues on inner roads to the districts.

ELECTRICITY / WATER
Several districts have received electricity and water thus far Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- On Friday, September 15, the French authorities, represented by the Prefet Madame Anne Laubies and President Daniel Gibbs met with the Governor, drs. Eugene Holiday, and the Council of Ministers of Sint Maarten to discuss the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. The meeting continued with the Governor and a delegation of the Council of Ministers consisting of the Prime Minister, Mr Read more

French Side General, Emergency And Water Distribution Update.

INFORMATION HELP DESKS

 DISTRICTLOCATIONHOURS  MARIGOT Collectivité building 8:30 am to 12 pm everyday SANDY GROUND MJC 8:30 am to 12 pm everydayCONCORDIA  Médiathèque 8:30 am to 12 pm everyday LA SAVANE Cité Scolaire 8:30 am to 12 pm everyday FRENCH QUARTER Primary St. Maximin 8:30 am to 12 pm everyday

CIVIL REGISTRY

For all administrative documents pertaining to the Civil Registry please report to the Collectivité main building in Marigot from 9 am to 12 am open every day.

MEDICAL EMERGENCY POINTS

DISTRICT LOCATION BAIE NETTLE Flamboyant Hotel HOPE ESTATE Parking lot of former Simply Market GRAND-CASE Parking lot of the MJC FRENCH QUARTER French Quarter Pharmacy

EMERGENCY LODGING

The Association SOS Attitude is bringing in rescue tents that will be arriving at the end of the week Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- The joint task force consisting of members representing the police forces from Aruba and Curacao, the Royal Marechaussee, the V.K.S., the Customs Department under the leadership the Sint Maarten Police Force continue to work diligently to maintain the safety and security situation on the Dutch side of the island totally under control. Joint patrols continue to carry out general controls and other safety and security checks continue to take place on a 24-hour basis.
Police also continue to monitor the situation at all water and supplies distribution locations to make sure that this process takes place safe and without incident Read more

Police Report: Man Shot To Dead

Three suspects arrested for violating curfew

Chief Inspector Ricardo Henson

Since the aftermath of hurricane Irma, a 24 hours curfew was issued by the Honorable Prime Minister William Marlin for the entire Dutch side of the island. As the situation on the island started to improve the Prime Minister changed this curfew to a more lenient one Read more

Today A Mandatory Meeting For The Ministry Of Education, Culture, Youth & Sport

Philipsburg, The Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, the Honorable Silveria Jacobs, is requesting all Management and Staff of the following departments and divisions to attend a mandatory meeting On Friday Sept 15 at the New Government Building for 11:00 a.m.

Department of Education
Department of Sports
Department of Youth
Department of Culture
Division Public Education
Division Study financing
Division Educational Innovation (DEI)
Student Support Services Division (SSSD)
Division of Exams
Inspectorate
Staffbureau

Lastly, we are requesting Ms Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- The normal life on St. Maarten is slowly starting again. The local authorities support this image. Distribution of fuel and the slow completion of electricity and the GSM network contribute to this.
The military support of the emergency aid operation on Sint Maarten is expanded today with a battalion of the Corps Mariniers and a company of the air mobile brigade Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Since the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, a 24 hours curfew was issued by the Honourable Prime Minister William Marlin for the entire Dutch side of the island. As the situation on the island started to improve the Prime Minister changed this curfew to a more lenient one. This curfew is to allow law enforcement to provide the necessary safety and security for all citizens and to allow the clean-up services to continue with the cleaning Read more

Caribbean Tourism Organization (Cto) Hurricane Irma - Update 5.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados:--- The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) continue to provide updates from their members in the northern Leeward Islands and the northern Caribbean following the impact Hurricane Irma.

Relief efforts are underway in a handful of the countries and both CTO and CHTA have set-up funds to assist in the efforts. CTO’s Relief Fund helps families and countries rebuild after hurricanes. For more information on CTO’s Relief Fund or to make a donation, visit www.gofundme.com/hurricane-relief-fund-cto Read more

MARIGOT:--- The president of the Collectivité of Saint-Martin, Mr. Daniel Gibbs, wishes to make a statement about the situation on the island since the passage of Hurricane IRMA, on September 6th, 2017.
Phase 1 of the post-hurricane organization consisted in managing, on the one hand, the urgency in terms of taking care of the wounded, sick or distressed, but also the tourists by organizing the evacuation from the island Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Tourism and Economy Minister Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher and her cabinet members have swung into action over the past few days to distribute much-needed supplies to various districts following the passing and destruction of Hurricane Irma.

The Minister along with her Chief of Staff Cecil Nicholas and Director of the St. Maarten Tourist Office Rolando Brison ensured that all the airlines that Ministry TEATT coordinated to come into St Read more

PRESIDENT'S PROHIBITION OF MOVEMENT AND ROAD TRAFFIC

The President of the Collectivité of Saint-Martin informs you that the road from Sandy Ground (from the bridge to the MJC) will be closed to traffic on Thursday, September 14, 2017 and Friday, September 15, 2017, from 9 am to 4 pm to allow cleaning trucks and vehicles to finish removing bulky items on the Sandy Ground area.
A second decree of road-closing will be taken for the St James area from the Bellevue roundabout to the “Doigt de gant” on Saturday, September 16th, 2017 and on Sunday, September 17th, 2017 from 9 am to 4 pm to facilitate cleaning in this downtown area.
A third interdiction will be taken for the Low-Town area in Marigot-St James on Monday, September 18th, 2017 and Tuesday, September 19th, 2017 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm also to facilitate cleaning in this downtown area.
PEOPLE ARE ASKED TO TRAVEL ON ROADS ONLY FOR EMERGENCY AND TO LEAVE THE ROAD SYSTEM ACCESSIBLE FOR CLEANING.

VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE TO GUADELOUPE AND MARTINIQUE
Several ways exist to leave the territory:

Military aircrafts make free flights to Martinique from Princess Juliana airport for those who wish to return to Europe via Martinique Read more

Ilo Hosts Workshop To Help Countries Fulfill Reporting Requirements.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago:--- The International Labour Organization (ILO) is hosting a capacity-building workshop in Guyana from September 13-15, 2017. The purpose of the workshop is to boost the capacity of government officials to effectively plan, prepare and write key national reports on International Labour Standards.

Government officials from thirteen (13) Caribbean member States are attending including: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago Read more

Gas Crisis On St. Maarten Causes People To Loot Private Cars

~ Government holds public hostage from getting fuel for cars and generators ~

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten — Drivers were on the prowl for gasoline and diesel on Monday as gas stations on St. Maarten continue to be closed to the public. Some of the gas stations only opened for emergency services and refused to sell to other motorists.

Minister of VROMI Christopher Emmanuel was seen on Monday holding a book of government bonds which he decides who gets and who is turned away Read more

PHILIPSBURG/MARIGOT: St. Maarten/St. Martin started experiencing the effects of Hurricane Irma on September 5, 2017, in the evening hours. Throughout the night most residents experienced tropical storm force winds and rain. In the morning hours of September 6, 2017, the island started experiencing the full force of the hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (297 km/h) or greater. During this time the island lost electricity and communications on both sides of the island.
An assessment of the death toll and damage to the island is underway, early reports indicate that the French side was hit harder than the Dutch side with a death toll of 9 so far Read more

Eclac Expresses Solidarity And Offers Support To Caribbean Countries Affected By Storms.

Executive Secretary of the UN organization, Alicia Bárcena, sent a letter to Heads of States of all islands struck by the storm season in the last two weeks.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago:--- The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) expressed today its solidarity to all the countries affected by the unprecedented devastating storms that have marched across the Caribbean in the space of two weeks.

In a letter sent to the Heads of States of all Caribbean islands, the Executive Secretary of this United Nations regional Commission, Alicia Bárcena, also offered support and assistance to critical post disaster assessment using ECLAC’s established Damaged and Loss Assessment (DaLA) methodology.

The complete text of Alicia Bárcena’s letter appears below:

Excellencies,

The welfare of your countries and the safety of your peoples remain uppermost in our minds at this time of great uncertainty and distress Read more

Eclac Facilitates Public Expenditure Review Process In Belize.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago:--- A series of consultations designed to explain the importance of pursuing public expenditure reviews (PERs) as part of the budget process was conducted recently in Belize with Government Chief Executive Officers, representatives from line Ministries and finance officers.

The consultations were facilitated by a team from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) sub regional headquarters for the Caribbean, led by Deputy Director, Dr Read more

National Address Of Prime Minister William Marlin On The Passing Of Hurricane Irma.

St. Maarten, September 5, 2017

My fellow St. Maarteners,

Residents and Visitors of our beautiful island,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good afternoon

Today is exactly 22 years ago when Hurricane Luis struck St. Maarten and left a trail of destruction in its wake. Normally, on a day like this, we would be looking back and reflecting on how that incredible storm changed our lives.

But today is not a normal day. In a matter of hours, we are expecting another monster storm, Hurricane Irma, to come calling Read more

My fellow St. Maarteners,
Residents and Visitors of our beautiful island,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good afternoon.

Today is exactly 22 years ago when Hurricane Luis struck St. Maarten and left a trail of destruction in its wake. Normally, on a day like this, we would be looking back and reflecting on how that incredible storm changed our lives.
But today is not a normal day. In a matter of hours, we are expecting another monster storm, Hurricane Irma, to come calling. While the lessons we learned from Luis may give us some measure of comfort to face the dangers Irma poses, I want to assure each and every one of you that the most important thing we must safeguard is life itself.
By now, you should have completed all the necessary preparations, including taking care of your pets Read more

Residents Of Grand Case Evacuating As Irma Approaches --- St. Martin Under Code Red.

Curfew on Dutch St. Maarten as of 6 PM 

MARIGOT:/PHILIPSBURG:--- Residents of Grand Case and Sandy Ground are currently evacuating after the 11 AM update on Irma was announced. According to information reaching SMN News, the residents of Grand Case have taken the decision to evacuate knowing that their community is prone to flooding. The French side is under code red meaning that there is danger looming over the people of St. Martin when hurricane IRMA hits later this evening.

In the meantime, the Prime Minister of St Read more