At least 14 people have been killed when Hurricane Tomas slammed into St. Lucia over the weekend, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.
While the hurricane also hit St. Vincent & the Grenadines, as well as Barbados, initial reports indicate damage was most extensive on St. Lucia.
In Soufriere, roads were washed out and homes swept away. The town is now completely cut off as a result of landslides and washed out roads. Stephenson King, the Prime Minister of St. Lucia, described the damage to infrastructure in Soufriere as being so bad that the municipality may be cut off from the rest of the island for up to three weeks.
In Castries, a popular cruise ship port, bridges have been washed away and could take a week or more to repair.
It is estimated the damage will cost more than US$100 million.
As of yet, no cruise lines scheduled to call at the island in the immediate future have announced any itinerary changes. However, many shore excursions utilize road transportation and some call in Soufriere - both of which will not be possible for some time. It remains to be seen exactly how this event will affect cruise ship traffic.
Clearly, both the island and cruise lines want to continue to call at St. Lucia. The question is, will they be able to?
We will keep you updated as more details emerge.
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