Hurricane Maria: Anguilla fears further devastation as island struggles with Irma clear-up

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Anguilla suffered badly from Hurricane Irma

Cardigan Connor, who is also a former Hampshire county cricket champion, revealed islanders are at their wits end as they thought they had prepared for Irma, the Category 5 hurricane which hit last week, but it was “stronger than expected”.

Irma ripped metal roofs from properties across the island leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. 

Much of the island, just west of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), is without electricity and water, with Mr Connor only able to speak to Express.co.uk via WhatsApp.

Those not wealthy enough to build concrete homes have been left with nothing as wind and rain smashed windows and swept galvanised roofs off buildings, which have now become dangerous debris the local government is struggling to clear up before Maria hits. 

As Hurricane Maria barrels its way through the Caribbean, following the same path as Irma, Anguillans are attempting to prepare for the storm which devastated former British colony, Dominica, last night. 

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Mr Connor, said: “It’s very mentally stressful and nobody is sleeping well.

“We’re not going to leave Anguilla and for most of the time we live in paradise, but the devil tends to knock on the door of paradise.

“Most people would like to experience a hurricane to say you’ve experienced it, but once is almost too many.

“We don’t want to experience even a tropical storm, and the possibility of another hurricane after last week’s is just too much.”

Anguilla was one of the British islands foreign minister Boris Johnson visited last Wednesday in a show of support as the UK deployed more than 1,000 troops to the region.

Mr Connor said despite criticism of Britain’s response during Hurricane Irma, the British Caribbean island could not have coped without it.

He said: “The British response has been pretty good

“Some people have been critical about it, but I think it’s been positive.”

Up to 8in (20cm) of rain is expected to drench Anguilla when Maria hits, with the US National Hurricane Center warning “rainfall on these islands could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides”.

Mr Connor said he fears Maria will cause even more devastation if winds shift the many galvanised roofs blown off buildings by Irma.

Revealing what it was like to be in the hurricane, he said: “It’s almost like a rollercoaster when you get turned upside down but you cannot get off and there’s nothing you can do.

“Some people lost all they had.

“The problem we have here is Anguilla is very difficult to access and we have to rely a lot on St Martin.

“But, if they are also hit by a hurricane they cannot help, so we have to rely on Mother England.”

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Anguillans are struggling to clear-up after Irma in preparation for Maria

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Cardigan Connor, Anguilla’s tourism minister, said the country is devastated

Overnight Maria, the second major storm to hit the Caribbean this month, lashed Guadeloupe’s southern shores as it tracked northwest towards the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Maria has “reintensified” into a category five storm as it sweeps towards British overseas territories already battered by Irma.

The NHC said the hurricane had regained strength, with sustained winds of up to 160mph, as it approaches the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

Maria had briefly been downgraded to a category four storm after making landfall in Dominica on Monday, but US Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft reported it had returned to the highest hurricane category, meaning it could cause “catastrophic damage”.