Closed schools and administrations, evacuated ports and sheltered populations, the Lesser Antilles are preparing for the arrival of Irma, notably in Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélémy, most threatened by the category 4 hurricane , which will then touch Haiti and Florida.
Tuesday morning, the hurricane continued its route towards the West Indies, according to Météo-France, which should bring it "closer to the northern islands of the arc starting Tuesday night".
The hurricane, which moves at 20Km / h, is "extremely dangerous", insists Météo-France, "like hurricanes Luis (1995 St-Martin) or Hugo (1989 Guadeloupe, 15 dead) severe damage and thousands of disaster victims.
On Monday, Anne Laubies, the prefect of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélémy, in the north of Guadeloupe, wanted to be alarmist: "It is absolutely necessary that people take all the measures to go elsewhere immediately, for 11,000 people of the two islands, "we are in the situation of the highest risk".
A Category 4 hurricane-the maximum power reached by Harvey, which recently hit Texas and Louisiana with at least 42 casualties and more than 100 billion in material damage-can generate winds of 200 to 220 km / h in average with gusts up to 250 km / h, associated with heavy rain and 10 m waves.
The prefect delegate announced a passage in red alert cyclone, synonymous with confinement of the population, Tuesday around noon.
"The danger will be all the greater as we will be in the dark," stressed Mrs Laubiès, insisting on the evacuation of populations in flood zones. "We do not have to take risks. We are faced with a major problem that has not been known for more than twenty years."
In the northern islands, the new school year did not take place on Monday, and the schools remain closed until further notice. In Guadeloupe, barely reopened for the school year on Monday, schools closed for two days.
Here too, "dwellings on the lower or cliff-edge" are evacuated, and people relocated, particularly in gymnasiums or shelters provided by the municipalities.
"The government is mobilized," said Minister of Overseas Territories, Annick Girardin, on Tuesday, affirming that "the state services in these three territories have taken all the measures to protect the vulnerable people and come in disaster relief at the right time. "
"Some sixty civil defense professionals have been sent to reinforce them," she added.
- Uncertain trajectory -
Everywhere, public administrations will be closed on Wednesday, and private companies are invited to do the same. Hospitals must have "72 hours in advance of medicines, food and drinking water" and medical rescue teams were sent to St. Martin.
The population was invited to obtain water, food and batteries. Since the weekend, the shelves of the supermarkets empty little by little.
In St. Barth, many lined up at petrol stations, cut and cut trees around houses, and caulked windows and doors.
In Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe, a resident explained to AFP that he had "returned to the house all that could fly and even the fridge" which was on the terrace.
Others have returned kayaks, tables, flower pots, tools and any object that could become a projectile.
In all the ports, the boats were sheltered or evacuated to the south of Guadeloupe.
Martinique was placed Monday night in "orange vigilance for dangerous sea at the coast".
Hurricane alerts are also in place for the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saba and St. Eustatius. Irma is also threatening Puerto Rico, which it should touch Wednesday morning.
Its trajectory is still uncertain, but several projections place on its passage Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba before heading to Florida, then possibly the eastern coast of the United States.