St. Thomas Reaches Highest Drought Level as Water Shortages and Farm Losses Deepen Across USVI

Drought conditions have deteriorated to the most severe federal classification on St. Thomas, while St. Croix and St. John remain under extreme drought as farmers across the territory report dying livestock, damaged crops, depleted ponds and rising costs to obtain water and animal feed. The worsening conditions are detailed in an October 8 update from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Integrated Drought Information System and its regional partners. The assessment places St. Thomas under Exceptional Drought, or D4, the highest category on the U.S. Drought Monitor's five-level scale, while St. Croix and St. John remain at D3, classified as Extreme Drought. The latest assessment, based on information available through October 6, represents a deterioration from conditions reported by The Consortium in July, when all three islands were classified as D3. St. Thomas had already reached D4 by late September, and the new report shows that the territory has experie...