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4 5 www.cdema.org CDEMA’S RESPONSE OPERATIONS FOR HURRICANES MARIA AND IRMA – SEPTEMBER 2017 The initial needs identified were emergency relief supplies including water, food, tarpaulins and medical supplies. The needs gradually became greater after initial assessment of the actual damage in each State. A listing of the needs identified by each impacted State is also provided in the Situation Reports. Visit www.cdema.org for more details. IMPACT: CDEMA’s REGIONAL RESPONSE ACTIONS: International Partners CDEMA has worked with various international actors to reestablish the access to the water. PHASE 2 - Emergency/Disaster (Response: from day 1 to 14 days) In collaboration with regional and international partners, deployed over 306 response personnel to provide support in the areas of search and rescue, damage assessment and needs analysis, emergency response coordination and assistance in relief operations. The following are the number of teams deployed in response to Irma and Maria: v Four (4) Search and Rescue (SAR) Teams v Eleven (11) Rapid Needs Assessment Teams (RNATs) v Two (2) CARICOM Disaster Assessment Coordination (CDAC) Teams v One (1) CARICOM Operational Support Teams (COST) v Two (2) CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) v 308 combined Military/Police/Fire Officers/Artisans drawn from across CARICOM How to DONATE The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is a regional inter-governmental agency for disaster management in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Participating States (PS): Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Republic of Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands and the Virgin Islands. Irma , the 9th named hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season, became a category 5 hurricane in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday September 5, 2017. It rapidly grew from a tropical disturbance to a major Hurricane that created an unprecedented multi-state threat to potentially nine (9) of the 18 CDEMA Participating States (PSs). With maximum sustained winds near 185 mph, Irma a powerful Category 5 Hurricane impacted the CDEMA Participating States of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Virgin Islands (UK), Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis and Montserrat over Tuesday night into Wednesday evening, September 6, 2017. Irma continued its destructive path and impacted Turks and Caicos Islands and the northern border of Haiti. On Friday September 7, 2017, the southeastern Islands of the Bahamas were impacted. Maria, the 13th named hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season, became a category 5 hurricane near the Leeward Islands on Monday September 18th, 2017. Hurricane Maria impacted Dominica at approximately 9:35pm on September 18th as an extremely strong hurricane with wind speeds of 155 mph. Maria then impacted Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat and St. Kitts and Nevis on September 19th, 2017 and the Virgin Islands September 19 – 20, 2017. CDEMA has monitored the protection issues with support UNICEF, UNFPA, UNWOMAN and focused the security problems with military assets available in the region. CDEMA has provided support to several ministry of health and received collaboration with PAHO/WHO and CARPHA to restore health facilities and provide medical supplies. CDEMA made efforts in collaboration with military and with WFP and other international agencies to mobilize ships and aircrafts to delivery assistance. CDEMA worked with international partners and World Food Programme (WFP) to reestablish the food ration for the population. In collaboration with ITU, TSF, military engineers and communications companies, the communication networks have been gradually reconnected. Reconstruction and removal of debris is an urgent and relevant area where CDEMA has been worked in collaboration with UNDP and militaries. Urgent needs on shelter and temporary housing has been addressed with international partners such as IOM and militaries. PRIORITY NEEDS IDENTIFIED: A combination of strong winds, storm surge, intense rainfall from Hurricanes Irma and Maria resulted in the loss of lives, significant damage to homes and critical infrastructure throughout the impacted islands. Initial damage assessment reports indicate significant damage to roads, bridges, electricity and main water supply, airports, hospitals, schools, other government buildings and business structures. The service sectors including tourism and agriculture suffered major damages across all impacted States. Please see detailed Situation Reports on our website at www.cdema.org PHASE 1 of the Regional Response Actions - Pre-Emergency (Preparedness & Stand-by Phase) v Monitoring progress of systems with the assistance of the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) v Maintain contact with threatened PS’s (including consulting with CDEMA Council Chair, CARICOM Secretary General) v Convene coordination meetings with Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) partners (United Nations-Resident Coordinator) v Disseminate Situation Reports v Mobilise relief & response support (relief supplies and cash donations) Visit www.cdema.org for ways to donate Business View is dedicated to helping the people of the Caribbean. We will be donating a portion of all revenue to the regions most impacted by the recent storms. If you would like information on how to help, please contact us at info@businessviewmagazine.com. We are working with many of the agencies throughout the Caribbean to help facilitate and restore communication.