Hurricane Maria's damages limited on Dutch islands

Hurricane Maria pulled past Sint Maarten during the early hours of Wednesday morning, at first sight with out causing much damage. Sint Eustatius and Saba got more wind and rain this time around, compared to hurricane Irma two weeks ago, but there too the damages seem to be limited, AD reports. The hurricane is still increasing in strength and is now heading towards the American Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Maria moved passed Sint Maarten further south than Hurricane Irma did. Hurricane Maria caused some very high waves around the harbor, according to local residents. "We had some winds and rain too. But compared to Irma, this was a breeze", Gordon Snow, editor of newspaper The Daily Herlad, said to Curacao radio station Paradise FM. Damages on the island still need to be assessed, but so far they seem to be limited.

Saba and Sint Eustatius also seem to have been largely spared. Dave Levenstone from The Bottom on Saba says that the island was plagued by heavy rain and hard winds for hours, but the worst was over around 7:00 pm, local time, according to NU.nl.