The Event: At 2pm Eastern Caribbean Time Hurricane Emily was located approximately 165mls East-southeast of Brownsville, Texas, USA. Emily is now a category two hurricane on the Saffir Simpson Scale.
The Prognosis: Following the passage of Emily in the Eastern and Northwest Caribbean, detailed assessments are now being undertaken in Grenada and Jamaica.
THE SITUATION
Grenada
The Ministry of Finance has completed its preliminary assessment of the direct damage related to the passage of Hurricane Emily. The total damage of Hurricane Emily is estimated to be EC$300.5m approximately 2 per cent of the current value of GDP. This figure represents essentially direct damages.
The Ministry anticipates being able to quantify indirect damage with the support of the OECS which is scheduled to deploy a team to the island next week.
The direct damage are detailed as per below:
|
Summary of direct damage
Millions of Eastern Caribbean Dollars | |
| Sector |
Direct Damage
|
| Agriculture |
45.0
|
| Manufacturing |
4.0
|
| Wholesale and retail trade |
5.0
|
| Tourism |
15.0
|
| Electricity |
3.0
|
| Water/Sewage |
6.0
|
| Telecommunications and Broadcasting |
4.0
|
| Cable |
2.0
|
| Education |
12.0
|
| Housing |
190.0
|
| Health |
4.5
|
| Transport |
10.0
|
| Total |
300.5
|
As a result of the direct damage the following needs have been identified as priority for regional and international support. The Ministry is working to quantify these needs.
Sector - Immediate needs
Housing - Tarpaulins, building materials
Agriculture - Seedlings, propagation boxes, Green houses/nets, fertilizers, irrigation equipment/machinery
Manufacturing - Raw Materials
Health - Drugs, reagents. Bottled water
Jamaica
The Office of Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management based on initial assessments is reporting that a total of approximately 65 communities were affected by flooding and landslides in 8 parishes. The worst affected parishes are St. Elizabeth and Manchester
Casualties
The Nain Police confirmed five persons dead in Myersville, St. Elizabeth yesterday. The deaths have been attributed to a freak accident caused by flash flooding.
Welfare
A total of 177 persons have been reported to be in five (5) shelters across the island. The majority of shelters have been reported closed with the exception in the following parishes:
Trelawny
- Holland High School: 96 persons
- Unity Clinic: 12 persons
Kingston and St Andrew
- New Testament Church of God (Bull Bay):
42 persons
- Beach Road (private residence): 17 persons
St. Thomas
- Yallahs Primary: 10 persons
Infrastructure
Water -- Approximately 93% of the distribution system is in operation. Trucking of water is in place for areas not being serviced
Electricity - Close to 80,000 Jamaica Public Service (JPS) customers' islandwide were affected by power outages caused by heavy wind and rain on Saturday July 16, 2005. Most of the impact was in the parishes Clarendon, St. Thomas, St. Andrew, Manchester, St. Mary, St. Ann and St. Catherine. Power has been restored to some areas and parishes without supply are St. Catherine, St. Mary, St. Elizabeth, Manchester, and St. Ann. The company is also working to restore power supply to approximately 800 customers in north St. Andrew and St. Thomas who have not had electricity since to passage of hurricane Dennis on July 10, 2005.
Roads & Bridges -- The parishes of Manchester, St. Elizabeth and Clarendon have reported damage to roads.
Needs lists are being generated by the Parish Disaster Committees
Regional
Status of RRM -- The Regional Response Mechanism is hereby stood down and returned to a state of normalcy.
PAHO/WHO
The Pan American Health Organization, Regional Office of the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), has organized a reconnaissance team of advisors to study the effects of Hurricane Emily on the health status of Grenada and Carriacou, and to undertake a health needs assessment in response to the damage caused by the hurricane. PAHO's response based on their initial assessment is as follows:
1. Provision of a technical officer to undertake the rapid health facilities assessment
2. Provision of technical guidance for the epidemiological assessment
3. Provision of technical guidance in health education/promotion program
4. Assignment of a senior Environmental Health Officer to undertake environmental health assessment
5. Contracted structural engineer to update existing retrofitting plan previously prepared for the Government of Grenada in February 2005
6. Liaising with international partners to secure resources as needed to undertake the following:
- repairs to the roof of the Richmond Home
- acquisition of tarpaulin for covering homes of Ministry of Health staff damaged by hurricane
- organizing pool of personnel to undertake skill training in counseling in mental health for Ministry of Health staff and selected communities
- identifying resources for relocating residents of the Home for the Elderly and other social patients.
- provision of relief health education personnel
7. Assist the Government to mobilize resources for reconstruction/replacement of the Richmond Home
USAID/OFDA
The Government of the United States of America through USAID/OFDA has donated the following emergency relief items to the government of Grenada.
- 150 Rolls of Plastic Sheeting
- 500 Hygiene Kits
- 500 10 liter water containers
These items were handed over by Amb. Kramer to the National Disaster Management Agency NaDMA on Monday July 18, 2005.
USAID/OFDA has also provided USD$45,000.00 to PAHO for roof repairs to health facilities and homes for the elderly. An additional USD$5,000.00 was donated to NADMA for facilitation of transportation services.
IFRC
The International Federation of Red Cross Societies has launched an emergency appeal on Friday for Hurricanes Dennis and Emily (www.ifrc.org and www.caribbeanredcross.org).
In response to the effects of Hurricane Emily in Grenada, IFRC's Pan-American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) in Panama despatched the first airlift of relief supplies to the island on Saturday, 16th July:
- 950 hygiene kits
- 1,705 plastic sheeting (4mx6m)
- 950 collapsible jerry cans (10L)
- 50 first aid kits
- 100 sets of rainwear (for RC volunteers)
- 100 pairs rubber boots (for RC Volunteers)
The aircraft also carried items for the UNICEF office in Grenada. A second airlift was despatched on Monday, 19th July - plastic sheeting, hygiene kits and jerry cans. Combined payloads will be distributed to 3,000 beneficiaries outlined in the emergency appeal.
A Disaster Management delegate arrived in Grenada on Saturday July 16, 2005 to support the Grenada Red Cross.
OXFAM
OXFAM has completed their initial assessment in Grenada which highlighted the following findings:
- Damage to housing and general infrastructure appears more widespread on the island of Carriacou than on Grenada.
- At least 245 houses (representing approximately 15-20% of the housing stock) in Carriacou are in need of urgent repair or rebuilding
- The poorest islanders on Carriacou, living in the more basic housing, have suffered particularly badly with extensive damage to their property, including damage or destruction of their latrines and complete destruction of their garden plots.
OXFAM is recommending the following as priority areas for support:
Carriacou
- Re-establishing electricity to the island
- Tarpaulin to provide temporary protection for houses that lost all or part of their roofing.
- Building materials (esp timber and galvanized sheeting) to facilitate the reconstruction of damaged or destroyed housing.
- Construction of latrines to replace those that were damaged or destroyed by the hurricane
- Support to the neediest families through the provision of seeds, saplings, fertilizer and tools to enable garden plots to be returned to productive use.
Grenada
- Constructing latrines for those damaged or destroyed (numbers unknown)
- Replacing ECHO-funded inputs that are likely to have been damaged during the recent hurricane. Inputs include: chicken coops, chickens, fruit trees etc.
CDB
The Caribbean Development Bank has received a request from the Government of Grenada for a USD$500,000.00 loan facility. The CDB is currently processing this request.
CDERA CU ACTIONS IN SUPPORT OF GRENADA and JAMAICA
The CDERA CU continues to collate damage reports and prepare SITREPs for dissemination to regional partners and CDERA Participating States on Hurricane Emily. These may be viewed at www.cdera.org.