After hurricanes, goods still at Dominican port

SHANE SUPERVILLE

One month after the hurricanes Maria and Irma devastated the island of Dominica, foodstuff, clothing, building material and other relief supplies remain unmoved from a port in Dominica, this according to official from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Stephen McAndrew.

McAndrew made the statements during a live stream video from Dominica last week, where he and other relief officials were working on rebuilding homes and restoring utlitities to the island. He said that while there has been a tremendous outpouring of relief supplies from the regional and international communities, many of the goods remain at warehouses along the port due to challenges in transportation. “At the moment there are several challenges in logistics in getting the supplies who need them the most.

However, we are awaiting the arrival of a shipment from Panama, from which we expect a much smoother flow of goods.”

McAndrew said that despite the widespread destruction, locals remained optimistic of a better future and said that the IFRC has worked closely with local authorities in rebuilding homes and rendering the necessary assistance in restoring electricity and water. He maintains however, that it may take several months to years, before Dominca returns to its former state “Every home in Dominica has been destroyed or affected in some way

Another official from the Red Cross, Raphael Hamoir, also addressed the meeting from Antigua and Barbuda where relief operations were still underway.

He said that in addition to providing relief supplies and technical support in reconstruction, members of the IFRC were also working with locals affected to recover from the psychological damage left by the hurricanes.

“We are currently engaged in a very ambitious psycho-social project in which we are working alongside families affected by the hurricanes and providing whatever support that we can.

We are committed to the physical and mental recovery of Antiguans and Barbudans.”