Bridgetown, Sep 6, (CDERA) - Five member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have offered assistance to the hurricane-ravaged American Gulf states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
The offers came from Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines - three of which were affected by natural disasters in the last 12 months.
St Vincent and the Grenadines has already provided US$20,000 cash and a ship load of bottled drinking water.
Jamaica has also reported that the nearly 350 Jamaican hotel workers, who are employed at two properties in the city of Biloxi, and one in Gulfport, are reportedly safe in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. They have been relocated to shelters. Barbados has also successfully evacuated its hotel workers from the affected states.
In Belize the Belize Red Cross is appealing for cash donation to help the survivors of the deadly hurricane strike. It has invited citizens to make donations at First Caribbean International Bank, Scotia Bank, Atlantic Bank Ltd., Belize Bank Ltd., and Alliance Bank of Belize Ltd..
The US State Department has advised Caribbean residents seeking to contact friends and relatives in the affected areas to first trying using cell phone or landlines and if these methods are unsuccessful they should place enquiries through their Washington DC diplomatic missions.
The Government of Jamaica has expressed its condolences to US President George W. Bush.
"The government and people of Jamaica are deeply saddened by the loss of life and extensive damage to property and infrastructure resulting from the passage of Hurricane Katrina that has affected the southern region of the United States of America, and which continues to seriously affect weather patterns in the USA," Acting Prime Minister Peter Phillips said in a message to US President George W Bush.
"Given Jamaica's own experience, we are painfully aware of the trauma and untold suffering caused by the hurricane. We hope that the floodwaters occasioned thereby will recede and allow life to return to normalcy within the shortest possible time. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the affected regions of the United States in the aftermath of this natural disaster," Phillips told Bush.
The Government of Dominica also offered condolences.
"The Government and people of Dominica are particularly saddened by the many lives lost during the passage of the hurricane and the tens of thousands who are now homeless and destitute as a result. The Commonwealth of Dominica applauds the yeoman effort of first response teams and all other units and individuals involved in the various rescue missions. We in Dominica are reassured that the tremendous show of patriotism and resilience, typical of the American people in the face of the crisis, will again be demonstrated in rebuilding the communities now hit by disaster. Our prayers are with the victims of Hurricane Katrina and their families."
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda said it could empathise with the US and has offered assistance.
"The Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda having experienced the ravages of Hurricane Luis in 1995, and subsequent storms, are fully aware of the many challenges that lay ahead for those States as they come to terms with the enormity of the devastation and seek to return to a situation of normalcy. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda stands ready to offer any assistance we can provide within the constraints of our means. Please be assured of the continued solidarity of the Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda," Prime Minister Baldwin Spence wrote to President Bush.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell of Grenada has expressed sympathy to the people of the United States affected by Hurricane Katrina and for the lives lost. Prime Minister Mitchell said that he could identify with the people and Government officials in the affected areas as Grenada had gone through two devastating Hurricanes in the last ten months.
Prime Minister Mitchell noted that tough challenges would lie ahead for the states hit hard by Katrina. According to him "it was difficult for me to watch some of the images on television. I know how the people of Louisiana and Mississippi must be feeling to have everything they have worked hard for gone within a few hours and to have loved ones lost as a result of this tragedy. I want to send my sympathy especially to my International Democratic Union colleague Mississippi Governor Hayley Barbour. Governor Barbour is committed to improving the lives of the people of his state and I know this level of destruction will be very painful for him."
Dr. Mitchell went on to say that "Hurricanes Katrina, Emily and Ivan have shown us that we in the Americas will face serious challenges from hurricanes and we must prepare adequately and have proper systems in place to ensure that the people of the region are protected."
Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Dr Kennedy Anthony, has assured President Bush of solidarity by Saint Lucians with the displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"We in Saint Lucia understand the sheer anguish of victims and the magnitude of the challenge to emergency personnel, because we too know the cost of picking up the pieces in the trail of storms and hurricanes. Please convey our sympathies to the bereaved and our best wishes for speedy recovery to the injured," Dr Anthony wrote to President Bush.
FURTHER INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM NATIONAL DISASTER COORDINATORS:
Patricia Julian
Director
National Office of Disaster Services
P.O. Box 1399, American Road
St. John's
Antigua / Barbuda
Tel: (268) 460-7075
Fax: (268) 462-4742
Cecil Shillingford
National Disaster Coordinator
Office of Disaster Management
Post Office Building, Bayfront
Roseau
Dominica
Tel: (767) 448-2401 ext 3296
Fax: (767) 448-2883
Lawrence Duncan
Commissioner
Civil Defense Commission
Camp Ayangauna Annex, Thomas Lands
Georgetown
Guyana
Tel: (592) 226-1114, 226-1117, (592) 226-9201, (592) 226-8815
Fax: (592) 226-1027
Barbara Carby
Director
Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management
P.O. Box 122, 12 Camp Road
Kingston 4
Jamaica
Tel: (876) 928-5111- 4
Fax: (876) 928-5503/8763
Howie M. Prince
Coordinator
National Emergency Management Office
Office of the Prime Minister ,
Kingstown
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Tel: (784) 456-2975
Fax: (784) 457-1691