Sligo’s twin city in Florida in path of Hurricane Irma



A former mayor of Sligo says her thoughts are with the people of Tallahassee in Florida as Hurricane Irma batters the U.S. state.

Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, is twinned with Sligo, and there have been a number of exchange visits between the cities.

Hurricane Irma killed at least 28 people as it raged through the Caribbean en route to Florida, where it has already claimed the lives of three people.

Over six million people, about a third of the state’s population, had been ordered to evacuate the southern part of the state.

Former Mayor of Sligo Rosaleen O Grady says representatives of Sligo will be contact with their counterparts in Tallahassee in the coming days.

Meanwhile, a Sligoman is among those on the Carribbean island of Sint Marteen which has been battered by Hurricane Irma.

Stephen Oates is among the many who are now hoping to get off the island.

There had been reports of looting and violence following the devastating winds and rains.

Thousands were evacuated from the island that is jointly administered by France and the Netherlands.

Communication with those on the island is difficult at present.

Stephen is brother of well-known Sligo auctioneer and valuer Padraig Oates, who says it will take years to get the island back to what it was.



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