Martinique, where 50,000 homes were left without electricity and 10,000 without drinking water, escaped the brunt of the storm, although a communications blackout with neighbouring Guadeloupe meant that it was still “too early” to know the full extent of the damage, a senior French Civil Protection official said.
But Hurricane Maria left a trial of devastation as it tore across the French island of Guadeloupe, 110 miles north of Martinique, on Monday night.
More than 80,000 homes were plunged into darkness following a massive power outage, a spokesman for the Guadeloupe prefecture said.
Guadeloupe prefect Eric Maire added that at two people were killed as the megastorm swept across the island, and that two people had been reported missing.
Mr Maire said: “One person – who wandered outside despite being urged to remain indoors – died after he was hit by a falling tree. The second person fell into the sea.”
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He added the two people reported missing had attempted to flee the island by boat.
Economic activity has ground to a halt on both islands, where public transport services have been suspended. Schools and nurseries have also been closed.
Major airlines, including Air France, Air Caraïbes and Corsair, cancelled all flights to the islands over the weekend, although airports were expected to reopen on Tuesday evening.
France’s overseas territory minister Annick Girardin – who came under fire last week after being accused of failing to send emergency aid to French islanders left destitute by Hurricane Irma, Maria’s predecessor – told Europe 1 radio on Tuesday that it was “far too soon” to know the extent of the devastation caused by Maria in Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Interior minister Gérard Collomb, for his part, said that 668 police officers were being sent to the hurricane-hit islands to help deliver aid and ensure order.
Hurricane Maria, which is currently rumbling towards the US territory of Puerto Rico, was downgraded to a category 4 storm by the National Hurricane Centre on Wednesday morning but remains “extremely dangerous”.