A picture taken in Nettle Beach bay on St Martin on Saturday shows the damaged Mercure hotel. A desalination plant destined for St Martin arrived Friday on Pointe-a-Pitre, on the French island of Guadeloupe, about 300 kilometres away. Cleaning up also remains a priority for St Martin, particularly in areas where rats could proliferate. Home to some 35,000 people, St Martin -- whose livelihood rests almost entirely on tourists -- attracts around two million visitors a year, most of them American cruise ship passengers. While visiting St Barts this past week, French President Emmanuel Macron promised emergency financial aid for those "who have lost everything".

Source: The Local September 17, 2017 04:30 UTC