Having ravaged
the Caribbean for more than one week Hurricane Ivan made landfall
in the southern United States, causing great damage, particularly
in the state of Florida. Ivan, which is considered the worst hurricane
that has hit the Caribbean in the last 10 years, left a trail of devastation
in at least 11 countries.
ACT member, Christian
Aid (CAID) deployed an emergency officer on Saturday September
18 to support its partners in Jamaica and Grenada to assess the needs
and coordinate their efforts. He has arrived in Jamaica and is working
with CAID’s partners, assessing the situation and preparing a proposal.
He will visit Grenada next week.
In Grenada, the
Caribbean Policy Development Center (CPDC), a Christian Aid (CAID)
partner has already made an assessment of the situation. They are
proposing to work under the framework established by the national
and regional disaster response authorities, assisting the most impoverished
parishes with basic food and temporary shelter materials. They intend
also to provide tools and equipment to the communities to remove debris,
clear roads and enable access to food and other services. The Caribbean
Council of Churches (CCC) has made contact with the Conference
of Churches of Grenada (CCG) who reports that they intend to provide
post trauma counseling.
In Jamaica, according
to the United Nations Disaster Assessment Coordination (UNDAC) the
most affected districts are Claredon, Westmoreland, St Catherine,
St Elizabeth, St Thomas, St Ann, Trelawny and Kingston. The most urgent
needs are water and sanitation, food, medical supplies and building
supplies. CAID partners are collecting food, water, blankets, household
items and building supplies. They intend to focus their relief and
rehabilitation activities in Westmoreland, Clarendom and St Thomas.
The ACT CO has
not been able to contact the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC)
due to a problems in the communication system. Therefore, it is not
yet possible to provide an update on their activities responding to
the damage caused by Hurricane Ivan.
