POND ISLAND--Some homeless and displaced St. Maarten residents may soon call the Festival Village home.
Government has plans to house people rendered homeless by monster Hurricane Irma on September 6 in the “Village,” as the location on Pond Island is referred to.
Prime Minister William Marlin told Members of Parliament (MPs) “several hundred people” can be housed at the location.
The village has 79 booths, of which eight sustained damage during Irma’s passing.
The option of the Village is in addition to those who will be housed in the container village on its way to the country from the Netherlands aboard Dutch Navy transport ship His Majesty Karel Doorman. The container village will be returned across the Atlantic Ocean when the last resident vacates it.
There is no official count yet of the number of homeless people on the Dutch side.
Irma wrought widespread damage on both sides of the island, leaving residents to seek shelter with relatives and friends. Some 10,000 people, including vacationers, have evacuated from the Dutch side alone.
Marlin said an aerial scan of Middle Region by the Red Cross had recorded damage to 961 homes.
