Richard Washington Julius, a Solid Waste Loader at the Environmental Unit of the Department of Health Protection, was the only person killed in Anguilla when Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on the island during the early morning hours of September 6, 2017. Given the intensity of the category 5 hurricane, commentators were of the view that it was a matter of good fortune that more persons did not lose their lives.
Julius was born in St Kitts on September 26, 1960, just weeks after Hurricane Donna struck Anguilla on September 4 that year. He later migrated to Anguilla and was employed at the then Public Health Department on April 17, 2000 and served there for the past 17 years. As fate would have it, he died when his small concrete block and galvanise roof ageing house, on the Reuben Hodge Road, Cauls Pond, collapsed during Hurricane Irma. It was reported that he might have been safe had he heeded the advice of his friends to leave his residence as the hurricane intensified. His body was discovered among the rubble.
Julius was described by his fellow workers as a dedicated employee who was the proud recipient of the Anguilla Public Service Employee Recognition Award on behalf of his Solid Waste Team. The award was presented to him by Deputy Governor, Mr. Perin Bradley, in October 2016. Julius will be laid to rest on Saturday, October 7, at St. Mary’s Churchyard Cemetery.
The scene, where Julius died, was visited by a first response investigating team from the Royal Anguilla Police Force led by Commissioner, Paul Morrison. “I got to say that the voracity of the wind, and how it was sustained, caused immense damage,” Mr. Morrison told The Anguillian. “There is widespread devastation with trees uprooted, properties damaged and people’s lives affected by Hurricane Irma. To date we know there is one confirmed death as a result of the hurricane…The intensity and the damage it caused to buildings and services have been incredible and I have not seen such devastation before.”
Speaking generally, the Commissioner went on: “We thought we were well prepared but the storm was so intense that the roof of the police station, and a number of other institutions, including the hospital and the prison, became detached, allowing water to ingress – especially in the police station as well as in other buildings. The pressure blew out a number of windows, even though they were shuttered, causing a lot of internal structural damage to walls. The police station lost power earlier on when the fuel line of the main generator became severed by debris hitting it. We managed to get the emergency generator working and we were able to restore the 911 call service which was busy throughout the hurricane.”
