Culture

Hurricane Irma and St. Martin: what the official record shows

Irma struck St. Martin at Category 5 strength on the morning of 6 September 2017. What the US National Hurricane Center recorded, and where the record is still incomplete.

By SXM Daily · October 14, 2026

On the morning of 6 September 2017, Hurricane Irma struck St. Martin as a Category 5 hurricane. This explainer sets out what the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) recorded about the storm's arrival and its effects on both sides of the island, and is clear about where the record used here is still incomplete.

Photo: Netherlands Ministry of Defence / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Landfall

The main source for the storm's path and strength is the NHC's Tropical Cyclone Report on Irma, the agency's detailed account of the hurricane.

According to that report, Irma made its second landfall on St. Martin at 11:15 UTC on 6 September 2017, which was 07:15 local time. It came ashore as a Category 5 hurricane, with maximum winds of 155 knots (roughly 287 km/h, or 178 mph) and a minimum central pressure of 914 millibars.

Those were the same wind speed and pressure Irma had when it made landfall on Barbuda. In other words, the storm had not weakened by the time it reached the island.

Dutch side

On Sint Maarten, the NHC reports that Irma caused severe damage to the airport.

French side

For Saint-Martin, the NHC describes widespread damage to buildings, citing media reports.

SXM Daily is not repeating overall damage totals in this article.

Deaths

The NHC's Tropical Cyclone Report on Irma (AL112017) states: "Eleven direct deaths were reported combined in Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy." The same report says 4 deaths were reported in Sint Maarten. The NHC gives no separate figure for Saint-Martin alone.

The French government's reconstruction commissioner, in a summary report from December 2017, also gave a combined figure of eleven deaths for Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy.

On 10 September 2017, the Netherlands government gave a figure of four deaths on Sint Maarten. That figure is the Netherlands government's, not the Government of Sint Maarten's.

The rebuild: two heritage examples

The recovery after Irma is a large subject, and SXM Daily does not yet have a sourced overview of reconstruction funding, including the World Bank trust fund and French state funding. Until that is in place, this article does not try to sum up the rebuild.

Two heritage projects are on the record, both reported by The Daily Herald:

Fort Louis, Marigot: the Collectivité de Saint-Martin has run a restoration of the fort, with safeguarding works from 2018.
One Tete Lokay statue: the statue was restored in 2021.

Why it still matters

For people who live on the island, 6 September 2017 is a date that does not need explaining. For newer residents and visitors, the NHC figures show why Irma is remembered as it is: the storm arrived at full Category 5 strength, early in the morning, and affected both sides of the island.

SXM Daily will update this explainer as a sourced account of the reconstruction is added.

FAQ

Q: When did Hurricane Irma hit St. Martin?

A: On 6 September 2017, at 11:15 UTC (07:15 local time).

Q: How strong was it?

A: Category 5, with maximum winds of 155 knots and a minimum pressure of 914 millibars, according to the NHC.

Q: How many people died?

A: The NHC reports eleven direct deaths in Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy combined, and 4 deaths in Sint Maarten.

Q: What has been restored since?

A: Examples on the record include safeguarding works at Fort Louis from 2018 and the restoration of the One Tete Lokay statue in 2021.

Sources

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL112017_Irma.pdf
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/restoration-of-fort-louis-by-the-collectivite-underway
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/one-tete-lokay-statue-restored
https://www.info.gouv.fr/upload/media/organization/0001/01/sites_default_files_contenu_piece-jointe_2017_12_summary_report_of_the_governments_commissioner_eng.pdf
https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/dutch-government-4-irma-deaths-on-st-maarten

Source: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL112017_Irma.pdf