PHILIPSBURG--As the country inches towards recovery in the wake of Hurricane Irma and with the curfew lifted from 8:00am to 3:00pm Wednesday, some establishments have begun to open their doors to serve the community.
A number of gas stations and supermarkets around St. Maarten opened to the public for several hours on Wednesday.
Amongst the gas stations that were open was DP Gas Station in Dutch Quarter. Owner Roy Marlin said the station was selling a maximum of US $20 worth of gas only to customers who had jerry cans (approved gas containers). From early a very long queue of persons formed in front of the gas station to get a chance to purchase gas.
Also open was the gas station on Sucker Garden Road, which first served emergency and clean-up crews then began serving the public. Customers were able to drive in with their vehicles and purchase whatever amount of gas they wanted. They also sold gas to walk in customers who had jerry cans or other containers for gas.
An extremely long line of vehicles was formed along Sucker Garden road leading to the gas station, which hampered traffic a bit, but no one seemed to mind as many persons needed gas.
Another gas station in the Cole Bay/Simpson Bay area was also open selling a maximum of US $20 gas to customers. Gas stations are expected to reopen again today during the hours that the curfew has been lifted to continue meeting the needs of the public.
Several supermarkets around the island also quietly opened to sell items to customers. As there were crowds of customers at most of the supermarkets that opened their doors, most of the supermarkets allowed small groups of customers to enter at a time to do their shopping.
