News and Media: Disaster 4335

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Press Releases & Fact Sheets

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ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands – A commitment of $928.7 million to demolish and replace Roy Lester Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas marks a milestone in FEMA’s collaboration with the territory to rebuild the healthcare infrastructure across the U.S. Virgin Islands damaged during hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017.
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ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands – As the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) remembers the six-year anniversary of the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma, the Territory faces a new challenge with the approaching Hurricane Lee. The timing of these events underscores the importance of preparedness and serves as a reminder of the resilience and determination displayed by the USVI community in the face of natural disasters said Mark A. Walters, Coordinator of FEMA’s V.I. Caribbean Area Office.
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The recovery from the 2017 hurricanes, Irma and Maria, is progressing and FEMA is still here assisting the Territory with the efforts. During the next several weeks, FEMA will be posting the “We Are FEMA USVI” series on their FEMA U.S. Virgin Islands Facebook page. The posts will highlight programs/groups, staff and recovery projects in the territory.
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Now is the time to prepare yourself and your household for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season. During Hurricane Preparedness Week, assess your personal risk, update your family's emergency communications plan, start to replenish your emergency kit, and review your personal and financial documents.
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ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands – Atlantic hurricane season is four months away, but now is the perfect time to start preparations to harden your home against damage from storms, review and update your family’s emergency plan and replenish your disaster supply kit,
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PDFs, Graphics & Multimedia

View the Disaster Multimedia Toolkit for social media and video content to help communicate about general disaster recovery.

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Mitigation Assessment Team Report: Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the U.S. Virgin Islands (FEMA P-2021)

The MAT was charged with evaluating damage from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, especially for buildings constructed or reconstructed after Hurricane Marilyn (1995), to identify both successful and unsuccessful mitigation techniques. This work involved: assessing the performance of residential, nonresidential, and critical facilities affected by the storms; evaluating the performance of photovoltaic (PV) facilities; investigating the effects of wind speed-up due to the islands’ topography on building performance; and meeting with residents and local officials to better understand what transpired during and after the storms.

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Mitigation Assessment Team Compendium Report: 2017 Hurricane Season (FEMA P-2054)

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was extremely active, producing 17 named storms. Six of these storms became major hurricanes (Category 3, 4, or 5), and three ranked in the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC’s) top five hurricanes with the greatest cumulative damage.

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Finding of No Significant Impact for Governor Juan F. Luis North Parking Lot and Ancillary Structures, FEMA-DR-4340-VI, signed 08/14/2023

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Environmental Assessment for Gov. Juan F. Luis North Parking Lot and Ancillary Structures, FEMA-DR-4340-VI, June 2023

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Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for Virgin Islands Shoreline Protections, signed 12/20/2020

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Programmatic Environmental Assessment for U.S. Virgin Islands Housing Actions, December 2022

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Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for U.S. Virgin Islands Housing Actions, signed 1/20/2023

 FEMA obligated $9.5 million this month through its Public Assistance Program for repairs to the Oswald Harris Housing Community. A Hazard Mitigation Proposal of $788,967 will include Installation of reinforcement for solar panels, stainless-steel doors,
Housing, Energy and Transportation Project Obligations Spring Recovery Forward

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, June 2, 2021 – FEMA obligated $9.5 million this month through its Public Assistance Program for repairs to the Oswald Harris Housing Community. A Hazard Mitigation Proposal of $788,967 will include Installation of reinforcement for solar panels, stainless-steel doors, laminated flooring, protective lighting mesh and the addition of epoxy sealant to exterior walls.

The sun peeks out from behind low clouds on a beautiful morning as it rises over St. John as seen from St. Thomas.
The US Virgin Islands: A Year After Hurricanes Irma and Maria

Sunrise over St. John as seen from the Ritz Great Bay on St. Thomas. FEMA/K.C. Wilsey

Road with cars on it.
USVI Slope Stabilization Analysis Project

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands – FEMA has obligated a total of $1.6 million through its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to the V.I. Department of Public Works for the USVI Slope Stabilization Analysis project. This advance assistance project will identify locations throughout the Territory in need of slope stabilization systems and aligns with the Territorial Hazard Mitigation Plan. FEMA photo.