CARICOM governments ready to assist hurricane-hit Member States
Several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments, including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Guyana, have indicated their readiness to assist Member States that were hit by Hurricane Matthew.
On Monday, the Trinidad Express reported that the Trinidad and Tobago’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) stood ready to assist its Caribbean neighbours if required, according to Dr Stephen Ramroop, ODPM CEO.
The Trinidad Guardian reported on Wednesday that Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley said Trinidad and Tobago would provide assistance to Haiti if requested following passage of the Category 4 hurricane.
According to the newspaper, the Prime Minister said that the economic situation in Trinidad and Tobago would not hamper its generosity to a Caribbean nation in need.
“Haiti is a member of CARICOM. We are Caribbean people and if there is anything that we can do in the event that they need help, T&T will always be prepared to share what we have with those who are in greatest need.
“Regardless (of) what our (economic) circumstances are, we will always have enough to share with our brothers and sisters who might be in greater need,” he added.
The Jamaica Gleaner said that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) was collecting donations from members of the public to assist with relief supplies to Haiti.
Guyana’s Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, said Thursday that his country was prepared to assist, the Government Information Agency reported.
Nothing that Haiti, in particular had been badly affected by the strong storm, Harmon said Guyana is monitoring the situation closely through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).
Aerial footage of western #Haiti shows catastrophic damage after Hurricane Matthew https://t.co/6Py7xgRxaS #MatthewHaiti
— Jacqueline Charles (@Jacquiecharles) October 7, 2016
“Guyana will make its contribution to the efforts to rebuild once the damage is properly assessed,” he said at a post Cabinet media conference on Thursday.
According to Harmon, Cabinet gave its approval for the Director General of the Civil Defence Commission, Colonel Chabilall Ramsarup to attend the annual “Achievements and Priorities Workshop hosted by CDEMA. This meeting will be held in Barbados from October 11 to 13, 2016.
Hurricane Matthew’s blast through The Bahamas: https://t.co/7i74I3VPbB via @YouTube — JamaicaObserver (@JamaicaObserver) October 7, 2016
The CDEMA meeting will seek to harmonise a comprehensive disaster management strategy for disaster risk reduction which was adopted in Japan, during March 2015.
The meeting will see presentations being made on achievements, good practices and tools related to disaster preparedness, programmes and action plans for the Caribbean.
GINA reported Minister Harmon as saying that the recommendations for actions will also be made for future disaster risk reduction implementation methods in the Caribbean.