PUERTO RICO CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM — When you approach St. John from the water now, the United States Virgin Island at first appears untouched by hurricanes Irma and Maria. The trees that cover the steep mountainsides — which were stripped bare by the strong winds — are green once again, the seas aqua blue. But as the ferry pulls in to Cruz Bay, you begin to notice that several buildings lining the harbour are still damaged more than seven months after the storms. Windows and doors are boarded up; a few walls are missing; rafters are open to the air. About two thirds of St. John — which has some 4,000 residents, compared to around 50,000 each on its sister islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix — is occupied by the protected Virgin Islands National Park. As a result, the island, which doesn’t even have its own airport, is surrounded by more natural protections than its neighbours, such as reefs, mangroves and forest-covered shorelines that help guard against extreme weather. St. John nevertheless suffered unprecedented damage in September’s back-to-back hurricanes, and scientists, conservationists and other residents believe that those natural protections are at risk because of the effects… Read full this story
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