One
of the worst hurricanes in living memory battered the tiny Caribbean
island of Grenada on Tuesday. Hurricane Ivan has devastated
90 per cent of the country’s infrastructure, claimed the
lives of at least 12 people and caused hundreds of millions
of dollars of damage.
Virtually cut off from the outside world, the extent of the
damage began to emerge on Wednesday when a videotape shot from
a British naval helicopter showed widespread destruction over
a large area. Winds of up to 125mph flattened homes, disrupted
power and caused major flooding. On the island there is no drinking
water and electricity. Approximately 60,000 people have been
left homeless and currently 5,000 to 8,000 people are accommodated
in some 47 shelters across the island.
Grenada’s capital, St George’s was also devastated
by the category five storm, the highest on the scale. Almost
every major building in the picturesque city suffered structural
damage. The storm also destroyed the city’s emergency
operations centre and badly damaged the main hospital.
In addition the headquarters of the Grenada Red Cross was devastated,
severely hampering the relief effort. Because of the severity
of the disaster only 10 Red Cross volunteers have so far been
able to report for duty across the island.
However international help is at hand. A disaster team which
includes the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent
Societies is in Grenada. But as Hurricane Ivan continues to
track its north-westerly route toward Jamaica and Cuba, the
humanitarian organisation is taking no chances and is preparing
to pre-position aid workers on the two islands.
Meanwhile Julian Gore-Booth, Co-coordinator of the Trinidad
Sub-Regional Office of the Federation, said the Red Cross would
be launching an Emergency Appeal on Friday to cover all the
countries in the Caribbean affected by Hurricane Ivan.
“We do not know the cost of damages in Grenada, but we
estimate it to be in the millions. The tourist, yachting and
agricultural sectors have all been destroyed. So the economic
impact on a small island like Grenada is extremely harsh. It
is going to take many years to recover,” said Mr Gore-Booth.
“Our role is to assist vulnerable and that is precisely
what we’re doing in Grenada. If the hurricane hits Jamaica
and Cuba we will be there too,” he added.
In other developments offers of help continue to pour in from
other Red Cross societies in the region. The Trinidad and Tobago
Red Cross as well as the Bermuda Red Cross have both launched
appeals. And the Barbados Red Cross has started to take donations
from people wanting assist in the relief effort.
“This was a very bad hurricane and many people have been
affected. We are trying to help our fellow Red Cross in Grenada
to assist the people affected by this terrible tragedy. This
is the least that we can do right now,” said Mrs Judy
Boopsingh, a spokeperson from Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross.
|
 |
 |
|
|
One
of the worst hurricanes in living memory battered the
tiny Caribbean island of Grenada on Tuesday (p11942) (CEDERRA
Photos, cederra.org)
|
|
|
|
|
|
News
