Dominica

Saturday, September 23, 2017 — My Fellow Citizens and Residents:

With courage and resilience, our Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has braved two powerful Category 5 hurricanes, Irma and Maria, within a span of two weeks, and we have come out of them without sustaining eithercatastrophic damage or loss of life. For this we give every praise, honour and glory to Almighty God.

This week in New York I expressed Australia’s condolences to Caribbean Foreign Ministers for the loss of life and destruction caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with all people affected by the devastation.

The storms’ deadly and destructive impact has been felt in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Puerto Rico, St Martin and the Turks and Caicos.

AG/11952

Assemblée générale Plénière
Soixante-douzième session, 19e à 22e séances plénières, Matin, après-midi & soir,

Le Ministre des affaires étrangères de la République populaire démocratique de Corée affirme que son programme nucléaire est purement dissuasif

Moyen-Orient, Soudan du Sud, Yémen, Myanmar et essor du terrorisme: face à la multiplication des conflits et des défis sur la scène internationale, de nombreux États Membres ont appelé aujourd’hui à une réforme urgente de l’Organisation des Nations Unies.

GA/11952

General Assembly Plenary
Seventy-second Session, 19th to 22nd Meetings (AM, PM & Night)

Small Island States Concerned about Access to Financial Markets, Illegal Fishing

Security, human rights and international law took centre stage at the General Assembly today, with States diverging over how best to preserve their stability in the face of existential threats, as the 193-member body entered the fifth day of its annual high-level debate.

Puerto Rico's governor met Saturday with mayors from around the U.S. island territory ravaged this week by Hurricane Maria and discussed urgent needs of their communities, some of which are still threatened by a failing dam.

Governor Ricardo Rossello said Saturday on Twitter that he had seen the damage to the Guajataca Dam, which was overwhelmed by floodwaters after Maria's onslaught. He tweeted, "We reinforce our request that people leave the area as soon as possible."

Arrangements are being made to have doctors and nurses from Barbados travel to Dominica to provide much-needed assistance.

This is according to Dr. Brian Charles, who is in Dominica to provide primary assessments for the health care services and the hospital there, and to work alongside the Barbadian military personnel. Dominica remains in a state of emergency after it was devastated by a category five Hurricane Maria on September 18.

23 September 2017 – Pleading with all countries in the United Nations General Assembly – large and small, rich and poor – to come together to save our planet, the Prime Minister of Dominica, where the landscape, ravaged by back-to-back hurricanes “resembles a warzone,” said his and other islands in the Caribbean need help now to build their homelands back better.

Media Release New Zealand High Commission Barbados 22 Sep 17

Saturday, September 23, 2017 — The Government of New Zealand has announced that it is contributing NZ$250,000 to the immediate relief efforts for Caribbean countries affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The funding will be disbursed through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support governments in early recovery activities such as debris management and rehabilitation of basic services such as water and electricity.

23 de septiembre de 2017

Las últimas semanas han sido extremadamente difíciles para varios Estados Miembros de la OEA, que han sido golpeados por 3 huracanes seguidos - Harvey, Irma y María. Han afectado a numerosas islas en el Caribe, especialmente Barbuda, en Antigua y Barbuda, la Mancomunidad de Dominica, Puerto Rico, Florida y amplias zonas de Houston, en Estados Unidos. Estos desastres se han cobrado muchas vidas, han causado miles de millones de dólares en daños a hogares, negocios e infraestructuras.

Geneva/Panamá, 21 September 2017 — A global Red Cross emergency team is on its way to the Caribbean island of Dominica as reports from the ground indicate widespread damage in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

The 12-person Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT) is made up of experts from around the world and will serve as a frontline for Red Cross support to the battered island. Maria made landfall on Dominica on 19 September, knocking out all communication.

St. George’s, Grenada – Friday 22nd, September, 2017: The general public is hereby notified that the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) has collaborated with the vessel ‘Flying Buzzard’ for the collection of relief supplies for Dominica.

The vessel will be loading today Friday 22nd September, 2017 from 12 noon at the Welcome Bay Area of the St. George’s Port. Persons can donate relief items such as Tarpaulin, water, canned food, toiletries and items for babies. Individuals are welcomed to deliver well labeled personal items.

September 23, 2017 These past few weeks have been extremely difficult for several OAS Member States who have been hit by 3 hurricanes in quick succession - Harvey, Irma and Maria. They have affected several islands in the Caribbean, especially Barbuda, in the twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda, and the Commonwealth of Dominica, Puerto Rico, Florida and large parts of Houston, in the United States. These disasters have claimed many lives and caused billions of dollars of damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure.

In Dominica, the number of fatalities is expected to further rise as large areas of the island remain inaccessible. Until now, 15 deaths and 20 missing people are reported. At least 85% of the population was exposed to moderate or severe damage and needs urgent support in terms of shelter and water. 90% of the buildings have been damaged. There is no electricity, no water and no gasoline and destroyed roads and bridges make it very difficult to access communities. All airports are closed making the shipment of equipment and movement of staff challenging.

Ben Parker

In a rare live-blog from the prime minister of a country grappling with disaster, Dominica’s Roosevelt Skerrit described his own roof being torn off by Hurricane Maria. He has now confirmed 25 deaths and says his small Caribbean nation, population 73,000, will be building back “from zero”.

Read more on IRIN

This map illustrates potentially damaged structures and buildings in South Roseau (Saint Georges Parish) as detected by satellite image acquired after landfall of the Tropical Cyclone Maria-17 on 19 September 2017. UNITAR-UNOSAT analysis used a Pleiades image acquired on 21 September 2017 as post imagery. UNITAR-UNOSAT identified in the analysed area Roseau South (Castle Comfort, Citronnier and Loubiere) 863 potentially damaged structures.

Highlights

September 22, 2017, BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has offered a grant to the Commonwealth of Dominica following the passage of Hurricane Maria, and is fast-tracking a grant for the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).

USAID/DCHA Caribbean – Hurricanes Fact Sheet #12, Fiscal Year (FY) 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

• DART staff arrive in Dominica to conduct assessments, support humanitarian response

• Hurricane Maria damages infrastructure on Saint Kitts and Nevis, causes flooding, limited impacts in the Dominican Republic and Haiti

• U.S. Government (USG) international humanitarian assistance to the Caribbean totals nearly $7 million

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Situation​ ​Overview