Hurricane Irma in the context of "New Jersey Army National Guard"

Saint Martin is an island in Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the northeastern Caribbean, approximately 300 km (190 mi) east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km (34 sq mi) island has been divided since 1648 roughly 60:40 between France (53 km or 20 sq mi) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (34 km or 13 sq mi), but the Dutch part is more populated than the French. The northern French part comprises the Collectivity of Saint Martin and is an overseas collectivity of France. The southern Dutch part comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Even though the island is an overseas possession of two European Union member states, only the French part of the island is part of the EU.

On 1 January 2019, the population of the whole island was 73,777 inhabitants, with 41,177 living on the Dutch side and 32,489 on the French side. Note that the figure for the French side is based on censuses that took place after the devastation of Hurricane Irma in September 2017, whereas the figure for the Dutch side is only a post-censal estimate still based on the 2011 census. The first census since Hurricane Irma on the Dutch side of the island took place in October 2022. The population of the island on 1 January 2017, before Hurricane Irma, was 75,869 (40,535 on the Dutch side, 35,334 on the French side).

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was a devastating and extremely active Atlantic hurricane season that became the costliest tropical cyclone season on record worldwide, with a damage total of at least $294.92 billion (USD). It was the second consecutive above–average season dating back to 2016. The season featured 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and 6 major hurricanes. Most of the season's damage was due to hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Another notable hurricane, Nate, was the worst natural disaster in Costa Rican history. These four storm names were retired following the season due to the number of deaths and amount of damage they caused. Collectively, the tropical cyclones were responsible for at least 3,364 deaths. The season also had one of the highest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) on record, with an index of 225 units. A record three hurricanes generated an ACE of over 40: Irma, Jose, and Maria. This season featured two Category 5 hurricanes, and the only season other than 2007 with two hurricanes making landfall at that intensity. The season's ten hurricanes occurred one after the other, the greatest number of consecutive hurricanes in the satellite era, and tied for the highest number of consecutive hurricanes ever observed in the Atlantic basin.

The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30. These dates historically describe the period of year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin and are adopted by convention. However, as shown by Tropical Storm Arlene in April, the formation of tropical cyclones was possible at other times of the year. In late August, Hurricane Harvey struck Texas and became the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005, ending a record 12-year span in which no hurricanes made landfall at the intensity of a major hurricane throughout the United States and was the strongest since Charley in 2004. With damages estimated at $125 billion, the storm sequentially tied Hurricane Katrina for the costliest tropical cyclone on record and broke the record for most rainfall dropped by a tropical cyclone in the United States, with extreme flooding in the Houston area. In early September, Hurricane Irma became the first Category 5 hurricane to impact the northern Leeward Islands on record, later making landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane. In terms of sustained winds, Irma, at the time, became the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin outside of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (285 km/h); it was later surpassed in 2019 by Hurricane Dorian. In mid September, Hurricane Maria became the first Category 5 hurricane in history to strike the island of Dominica. It later made landfall in Puerto Rico as a high-end Category 4 hurricane with catastrophic effect. Most of the deaths from this season occurred from Maria. In early October, Hurricane Nate became the fastest-moving tropical cyclone in the Gulf of Mexico on record and the third hurricane to strike the contiguous United States in 2017. Slightly over a week later, Hurricane Ophelia became the easternmost major hurricane in the Atlantic basin on record, and later impacted most of northern Europe as an extratropical cyclone. The season concluded with Tropical Storm Rina, which became extratropical on November 9.

Hurricane Jose was a powerful, erratic, and long-lived tropical cyclone, the longest-lived since Hurricane Nadine in 2012. Jose was the tenth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Jose developed into a tropical storm on September 5 from a tropical wave that left the west coast of Africa nearly a week prior. A period of rapid intensification ensued on September 6, when Jose reached hurricane intensity. On September 8, it reached its peak intensity as a high-end Category 4 with 1-minute sustained winds of 155 mph. However, due to wind shear, it weakened over the next few days as it completed an anti-cyclonic loop north of Hispaniola. Despite weakening to a tropical storm on September 14, Jose managed to regain hurricane intensity the next day as it began to curve northward. Never strengthening above Category 1 status for the remainder of its lifespan, Jose degraded to a tropical storm once again on September 20. Two days later, Jose degenerated into a post-tropical cyclone as it drifted northeastwards off the coast of New England. By September 26, Jose's remnants had dissipated off the East Coast of the United States.

Initially projected to impact the Antilles already affected by Hurricane Irma, Jose triggered evacuations in catastrophically damaged Barbuda, as well as in Saint Martin. Eventually, as Jose changed its path, its inner core and thus the strongest winds stayed offshore. Nonetheless, Jose still brought tropical storm-force winds to those islands. Later on, Jose brought heavy rain, swells, and rough surf to the East Coast of the United States, causing beach erosion and some flooding. A woman died after she was caught in a rip current in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

In American national security policy, homeland security is "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to the "national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce the vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorism, and minimize the damage from attacks that do occur." According to an official work published by the Congressional Research Service in 2013, the "Homeland security" term's definition has varied over time.

Homeland security is not constrained to terrorist incidents. Terrorism is violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature. Within the US, an all-hazards approach exists regarding homeland security endeavors. In this sense, homeland security encompasses both natural disasters and man-made events. Thus, the domain of homeland security must accommodate a plethora of situations and scenarios, ranging from natural disasters (e.g., Hurricane Katrina, Irma) to acts of terrorism (e.g., Boston Marathon bombing, September 11 attacks).

In forestry, windthrow refers to trees uprooted by wind. Breakage of the tree bole (trunk) instead of uprooting is called windsnap. Blowdown refers to both windthrow and windsnap.