Christian Aid staff and partners in the Caribbean are standing by to help the people affected by this weekend’s powerful hurricane.
Hurricane Dean, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, skirted the southern provinces of Haiti and the Dominican Republic before pummelling Jamaica on Sunday.
In the run-up to the storm, Christian Aid partners in Jamaica had helped their communities prepare for gale-force winds and torrential rain. S-corner in Kingston sourced chainsaws so that local residents could chop down potentially dangerous tree branches and Children First stockpiled basic food supplies.
Now partners are gathering damage assessment reports from affected communities. Access and communications remain difficult because of damaged power lines, blocked roads and continued heavy rain and high winds.
Jamaica narrowly escaped a direct hit as Hurricane Dean passed just to the south of the island. As the storm begins to move off, it seems that Kingston has escaped the worst effects, but the south-eastern parish of St Thomas may be badly affected. So far, there are no reported deaths in Jamaica.
One person has died in the Dominican Republic and two in Haiti. Early reports are that the Dominican Republic has escaped relatively unscathed, but Haiti’s southern peninsula has had widespread damage, with homes and farms destroyed.
As it continues to rain, there is a risk of floods and mudslides, especially in heavily deforested Haiti. Christian Aid’s local partners GARR and KORAL are monitoring the situation closely, with rapid response teams on stand by.
Dean is a category four hurricane – the second highest rating possible. It struck Jamaica with wind speeds of up to 145 miles per hour (235km/hour).
However, international hurricane warning systems meant that people were able to prepare for the storm. Coastal roads closed, emergency shelters opened and fishermen stayed ashore.
But last-minute preparations are only the tip of the iceberg. Throughout the Caribbean and Central America, several Christian Aid partners and communities have been involved in disaster risk reduction training over the last few months, as hurricane season approaches.
In St. Thomas, the Jamaican parish feared to be worst affected, our partner WROC (The Women’s Resource Outreach Centre) has been running disaster risk reduction workshops with five vulnerable communities, helping people recognise early warning signs and develop local emergency plans to respond to floods and mudslides. As Hurricane Dean blew in, WROC reported that people here were ‘as prepared as they could be under the circumstances.’
The annual Atlantic hurricane season runs until November. Hurricane experts have predicted that the 2007 season will see more storms than usual. They forecast 16 tropical storms, of which nine will become full-scale hurricanes.