Walking into disaster: how narcotraffickers captured the BVI

"Augustus James Ulysses Jaspert, Gus for short, arrived in Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, on 21 August 2017, just two weeks away from catastrophe. Jaspert, who was in his late 30s, had recently been appointed governor by Queen Elizabeth II, on the recommendation of the Foreign Office in London. The BVI is an overseas territory of Britain, with only partial independence, and the governor effectively acts as a backstop to the locally elected legislature."

"While Jaspert, his wife and two sons were settling into their new life, a tropical storm gathered over the Atlantic. At first, forecasters weren't unduly alarmed, but in the first days of September, the storm transformed into something much worse. In the afternoon of 6 September, Hurricane Irma made landfall in Tortola, which is home to the majority of the BVI's 30,000-strong population. Irma was one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic basin."

"It scalped buildings, blew out windows and removed entire floors from homes. Shipping containers smashed into the islanders' fishing boats and the out-of-towners' yachts. Jaspert rushed his family into the bathroom of the governor's residence, an imposing white-stucco mansion lined by porticos which, only finished in 2003, was newer and sturdier than many islanders' homes. (The original Government House structure, dating back to the late 19th century, was destroyed in a 1924 hurricane.)"

Augustus Jaspert arrived in Tortola on 21 August 2017 as the newly appointed governor of the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory with partial independence. Jaspert, in his late 30s and a career civil servant, had no prior governing experience in the islands. In early September a tropical storm intensified into Hurricane Irma and made landfall on 6 September, striking the island that houses most of the BVI's 30,000 residents. Irma produced catastrophic damage: roofs and floors removed, windows blown out, and shipping containers smashing into boats. Jaspert sheltered his family in the governor's residence bathroom and prepared for potential roof collapse. Many island residents lived in far more fragile housing, increasing their vulnerability to the storm's destruction.

Read at www.theguardian.com