During the past few days, Hurricane Irma has raged across the Caribbean and the south-eastern United States. It is now making its way inland, to the north-west. It has caused tremendous damage, especially on some Caribbean islands. Up to 200,000 German citizens are currently in Florida, and others are in the Caribbean islands. The German Government is making every possible effort to get an overview of the situation of German citizens in those areas. Our Government is ready to provide emergency assistance to people in the region and to help them repair the damage.

We have taken the following steps to enable quick reaction with a minimum of red tape:

A regional crisis centre has been set up in Atlanta to coordinate assistance. The number of staff at the Consulate General in Atlanta has been increased.

Requests for assistance can be made to the German Embassy in Washington, DC, by calling +1-202-298-4000.

A crisis support team arrived in the United States early on 12 September. The team has 31 members and is comprised of civilian and military staff from the Federal Foreign Office, the German Bundeswehr, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief and the Crisis Intervention Team.

German citizens have been affected in the Caribbean, as well. Some of these are on Sint Maarten/Saint Martin. They will be evacuated over the next two days. At the same time, a Bundeswehr A400M cargo plane has taken off for Curaçao, where it will deliver aid supplies.