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Maltese Man In Puerto Rico Experiences Full Force Of Hurricane Irma

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Thomas Ripard, a Maltese man living in Isabela, Puerto Rico, has been experiencing the wrath of Hurricane Irma this week. The terrifyingly powerful hurricane – one of the strongest ever recorded – hit Puerto Rico at approximately 10pm last night, and according to Ripard, scenes around Isabela were looking grim leading up to Irma’s arrival.

“The parking area of the apartment complex I live in is looking more empty than ever. Can’t really imagine where people are going though… People could be traveling south, it’s supposed to be better than the north coast,” Ripard told Lovin Malta.

“It’s kind of unreal to be honest. I’ve never experienced a bad storm let alone a hurricane. But it’s starting to sink in, seeing people stocking up over the last days, water is completely sold out in most stores.”

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Ripard, who has been working in Puerto Rico for the past two years noted that he and his girlfriend are safe. They spent much of yesterday stocking up on water, barricading their apartment and reinforcing windows with masking tape. 

So far the Category 5 storm has left 1 Million people in Puerto Rico without power, and approximately 56,000 without potable water. However, compared to neighbouring Caribbean islands they got let off easy.

“The worst of it is over but it wasn’t a very direct hit so not too much drama,” Ripard reported this morning. “It peaked around midnight I’d say. Wind was pretty crazy and lots and lots of rain.”

Neighbouring French Islands like St Martin and St Bart’s have so far experienced 8 deaths, 23 injuries. Barbuda have reported that the ravaging storm brought structural damages to nearly every building on the island. 

Is Irma the biggest storm you’ve ever seen? Let us know in the comments!

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