In September 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Irma caused catastrophic damage, particularly to St. John and St. Thomas. Just two weeks later, Category 5 Hurricane Maria ravaged all three islands. Sustained winds at the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge on St. Croix reached and gusted to . Even stronger winds likely occurred somewhere across the island's west end. The British Virgin Islands and the other two U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John and St. Thomas, were far enough northeast to avoid the worst from Maria, but were still massively impacted, with great destruction everywhere. A wind gust to 86 mph was reported at St. Thomas. Weather stations on St. Croix recorded 5 and 10 inches of rain from the hurricane, and estimates for St. John and St. Thomas were somewhat less. The hurricane killed two people, both in their homes: one person drowned and another was trapped by a mudslide. A third person had a fatal heart attack during the hurricane. The hurricane caused extensive and severe damage to St. Croix. After both hurricanes, the office of V.I. congresswoman Stacey Plaskett stated that 90% of buildings in the Virgin Islands were damaged or destroyed and 13,000 of those buildings had lost their roofs. The Luis Hospital suffered roof damage and flooding, but remained operational.