The Royal Caribbean International, the company that provides cruise tours around the region, on Monday posted itinerary updates after Hurricane Irma, its official website noted. The company is making use of its Cruise Ships as evacuation facilities for the victims of the deadly storm.
According to their recent itinerary updates, one of its cruise liners, Adventure of the Seas made a stop on Sunday in Sint Maarten, a country in the Caribbean. The area has been affected by the hurricane that is still surging through in the states of Florida and Georgia in the United States.
Sint Maarten is the in the constituent country of Saint Martin, an island located in the northeast Caribbean. The island The area is administered by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and another portion of it falls under France. Yahoo! News reported the Dutch government said that at least four people have been killed and 70 percent of houses destroyed in the island by the ravaging storm.
The New York Times also reported violence on the St. Martin Island as survivors are clamoring for electricity and phone services. They are currently experiencing food and water shortage.
Victims on board cruise ships
Because of this, the cruise ships run by Royal Caribbean International will give way to temporarily provide its space for the victims of the calamity.
The Adventure of the Seas ship has a capacity that can carry almost 4,000 people on board.
Majesty of the Seas, another line from the same company will also make a stop at St. Thomas and Sint Maarten Islands where the ships will work to transport evacuees to safer locations, their official website noted. The island of St. Thomas also heavily suffered from the storm.
Aside from this cruise line, another company named Norwegian Cruise Line participated in the efforts to bring supplies and help in the relief operations, an official release on the company’ website stated. This ship departed from Cozumel in Mexico during the night of September 11 and proceeded toward Miami in Florida.
Hurricane Irma in Florida
Florida is one of the most severely damaged U.S locations as Hurricane Irma also made a landfall in the United States. The country had not yet moved on from the previous Hurricane Harvey when another calamity came to the land.
At least 10 people died from the hurricane in the states of Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia, ABC News said. The storm continues to bring heavy and torrential rains to these states despite the National Weather Service forecasts that downgraded Irma to a tropical depression.
