President Donald Trump’s property on the island of St. Martin likely suffered damage after Hurricane Irma hit on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 6.
Le Chateau des Palmiers, which President Trump purchased in 2013, is currently on the market for $16.9 million.
The status of the compound was unclear as the hurricane battered the island. Officials with the French government, which oversees one side of the island, said its territory suffered heavy losses.
A Twitter screenshot shows the damage on St. Martin (RCI Guradeloupe/Twitter)“We know that the four most solid buildings on the island have been destroyed, which means that more rustic structures have probably been completely or partially destroyed,” French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters.
Government buildings were partially destroyed, he said.
(Instagram screenshot)France’s overseas territories minister, Annick Girardin, said that at least two people were killed on two Caribbean territories, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, during Irma’s onslaught.
“We’re talking about two dead and two seriously injured for now. Obviously, the situation can change very quickly,” Girardin told Reuters.
The French government was launching an emergency plan while assessing the damage.
“We will have victims to lament, and the material damage on the two islands is considerable,” President Emmanuel Macron of France said after a crisis meeting in Paris.
Trump Organization spokeswoman Amanda Miller said the company is monitoring the property closely.
“All of the proper precautions and protections have been implemented and right now we are just praying for all those in the path of Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean and beyond,” Miller said in a statement.
Trump also owns properties in Florida, including the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, as Irma barrels towards the state.
Miller noted, “The safety and security of our guests, members and colleagues is our top priority and we are closely monitoring Hurricane Irma. Our teams at the Trump properties in Florida are taking all of the proper precautions and following local and Florida state advisories very closely to ensure that everyone is kept safe and secure. We continue to send our thoughts and prayers to victims of Hurricane Harvey and are praying for those that are in the path of Hurricane Irma.”
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Irma is Category 5 with winds of 185 mph, ranking it as among the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded. The storm, it added, is bringing “life-threatening wind, storm surge and rainfall hazards to portions of the northern Leeward Islands, including the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico” as of Wednesday.
France’s national weather forecaster added that “never has a hurricane with such strong winds threatened the Lesser Antilles.”
Trump tweeted Wednesday that he’s “watching Hurricane closely. My team, which has done, and is doing, such a good job in Texas, is already in Florida. No rest for the weary!”
Writing in another tweet, “Hurricane looks like largest ever recorded in the Atlantic!”
