The​ ​Caribbean:​ Hurricane Season Situation Report No. 11 (as of 6 October 2017)

This report is produced by OCHA ROLAC in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the first period from 06 September to 06 October 2017. The next report will be issued on or around 13 October 2017.

Highlights

• Tropical Storm Nate formed on 5 October, travelling north along the Caribbean coastline of Central America towards the US Gulf Coast causing flooding and evacuations and affecting hundreds of homes.

• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will travel to Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica on 7 October to survey the damage and to assess what more the United Nations can do to help.

• Education needs assessments in Dominica cite 18,500 school-aged children are out of school and 57 Government primary and secondary schools were damaged or destroyed.

• As regional emergency response activities are scaling down, the logistics hub in Turks and Caicos and logistics support to Sint Maarten have now been phased out and teams are being extracted.

2,905
people who remain sheltered in Dominica across 93 shelter centres. Source: CDEMA

1,070
children from Dominica and Barbuda estimated to be integrated in schools in Antigua
Source: UNICEF

38
Confirmed deaths in Irma and Maria-affected countries
Source: UNICEF

28
deaths reported from countries affected by Tropical Storm Nate
Source: National Civil Protection in Costa Rica Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

Situation Overview

Humanitarian aid in the Caribbean continues to cover a range of response and recovery activities. While early recovery is the focus of humanitarian actors on islands affected by Hurricane Irma, restoration of basic services and provision of life-saving assistance is ongoing in Dominica now that internal access roads are being cleared of the debris left behind by Hurricane Maria.

In Dominica, most military assets from other countries who provided critical relief and support immediately after Maria have left the island. Humanitarian partners are working closely with the Government of Dominica and partners to restore services and access to the remainder of the island.

While there is still a need for emergency supplies such as food, water, tarpaulins and building material, markets are slowly reopening and as of 3 October, banks and businesses started reopening in the capital Roseau. Water distribution has been restored in much of Roseau, as has electricity in Roseau and Portsmouth and in the main hospitals. The restoration and repair of public buildings and businesses remains a priority. Access to isolated parts of Dominica is gradually being restored as roads are being cleared of debris.

While assessments in some sectors are still underway, initial reports cite important needs that must be addressed as Dominica eyes a transition to recovery. According to UNICEF, 18,500 school-aged children are out of school.

Some 57 Government primary and secondary schools were damaged or destroyed. Thirteen schools with only minor damage are currently being used as shelters. Debris collection is ongoing in Dominica, but separation of waste is needed to facilitate recycling and management.

Although markets are resettling, limited food availability and logistics constraints have put the most vulnerable at risk of food insecurity and will likely impact the availability and cost of non-subsidized food commodities in local markets. Even in the main urban areas, the impact of the hurricane has reduced the population’s ability to access food due to the economic impact and loss of livelihoods because of the crisis.

Normalcy is gradually returning on islands affected by Irma as national authorities and the humanitarian community transition to recovery activities.

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has lifted the mandatory evacuation order of Barbuda, paving the way for people to return to Barbuda. In Sint Maarten, only one evacuation centre remains open and as of 1 October it is in the process of being closed. Primary schools in Anguilla have been repaired and cleaned to sufficient safety standards to allow students to return to regular programming as of 4 October. Cuban authorities have restored power to almost all (99.61 per cent) the residents of Villa Clara, one of the provinces most affected by Irma.

In light of the scaling down of international humanitarian operations, the logistics hub in Turks and Caicos and logistics support to Sint Maarten have now been phased-out and logistics teams sent back to base, or re-deployed to other hurricane-affected countries.

Although Irma-affected islands are on track to recovery, many islands have identified an increase in mosquitos, which follows the seasonal increase seen in arboviruses in the region. Vector control supplies and campaigns have been identified as urgently needed.

In the south-western Caribbean, Tropical Storm Nate formed on the morning of 5 October, travelling north along the coastline of Central America as it makes its way to the US Gulf Coast, where it is expected to make landfall as a hurricane by 7 October.

Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama have all reported incidents of flooding and high winds, fatalities, people evacuated, and hundreds of affected homes. Thus far, the national civil protection systems have been responding with local response capacities.