The European Commission has announced that the EU is ready to provide any assistance that might be requested to help the Caribbean, where Hurricane Irma is bearing down. As soon as it was given the cyclone alert, the EU activated its Copernicus programme on Tuesday afternoon, 5 September, and sent an expert out onto the ground in conjunction with humanitarian aid. The Copernicus programme provides satellite maps enabling damage to be located and viewed.
"Europe is ready to help", European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides stated. This offer of assistance is valid for the Caribbean, but also for the USA, if they ask for it.
Having hit the island of Barbuda on Wednesday morning, Irma had reached the maximum level of power and danger (category 5) when it struck the Lesser Antilles – the French island of Saint Barthelemy and the Franco-Dutch island of Saint Martin – causing significant damage.
As EUROPE went to press, Irma was threatening Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the state of Florida in the USA, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
The European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre, which operates 24/7, is following the situation closely. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)