Before and After Hurricane Omar

Before Hurricane Omar slammed into St. Maarten, Kim Sha Beach had a lively community of beach bars tucked in under the coconut palms. That all changed on October 15, 2008 when pounding waves washed them all away and left piles of sea grass in their place.

Damaged trees were trimmed or cut down and everyone on the island pitched in with clean-up operations the next day. Debris that could hamper shipping was salvaged and removed from the Port and Lagoon.

To look at the island today, you would not say that a major hurricane had hit a mere two months ago.