Neighbors, CDB pledge 400K for disaster relief

Thu, Oct 13th 2016, 12:43 PM

As much as US$400,000 could be immediately available to The Bahamas through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to help with the recovery from the devastation suffered in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. Guardian Business has learned the money is from pledges by CARICOM neighbors and a grant from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Meanwhile, three rapid needs assessment teams (RNATs) were deployed by CDEMA to The Bahamas on Saturday, and are due back in Nassau today to report their findings. The teams facilitated damage assessments and needs analysis in North Andros, Grand Bahama and New Providence.

Guardian Business spoke with Elizabeth Riley, CDEMA deputy executive director, about the needs assessment.

"First of all we would want to express solidarity with the people of The Bahamas in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, and we are very much committed to providing support from the broader region through our system to assist you through this difficult period," she said.

Riley explained that CDEMA had placed its regional response apparatus on alert since late September when Matthew, just before it became a tropical storm, impacted the Eastern Caribbean.

"When the system impacted The Bahamas... we were in very close contact with Captain Stephen Russell at NEMA and he had given us a very early signal that the support of the RNAT was going to be required.

"And as such, we deployed that team into The Bahamas on Saturday, October 8. The team is a 29-member team, and it consists of a diverse number of disciplines and also has representation from a number of agencies both at the national level, regional level and international agencies," she said.

On that team, led by CDEMA, are representatives from UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) - the deputy lead - plus the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Global Affairs Canada (which provided an airport specialist), the Council of Caribbean Engineering Associations and other public and private sector players and representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

"We have three teams: one is on North Andros, one is on Grand Bahama, principally looking at the western segment of Grand Bahama, and the third team is on New Providence. They have been deployed into the field since Saturday, and in fact are scheduled to come back into Nassau to formally do their reporting (Tuesday) evening," Riley reported.

She explained that among the technical areas being assessed are housing and critical facilities, roads and infrastructure, coastal zone and water and health sanitation.

"They are visiting the specific areas which would have been identified as being hardest hit by Hurricane Matthew," she said.

Cash
The report, due within 72 hours, is expected to be available to the government by October 12. Together with the assessment of the Department of Social Services already underway, this report will form the basis for the identification of specific needs and how the response efforts would go forward.

Riley also addressed the question of cash.

"I can speak to the pledges which have been made by other CDEMA participating states. The government of Dominica (current chair of the CARICOM conference of heads of government) has pledged US$100,000 in support of the government of The Bahamas. And the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands has also pledged the amount of US$100,000 to the government of The Bahamas in support.

"Now in addition, the Caribbean Development Bank, through our partner discussions, has indicated that there is a grant of US$200,000 that is available to the government of The Bahamas. It's through their emergency response grant, but there are a number of other facilities which are available through the bank including loan facilities for post-disaster impact," she said.

Riley said the discussion on what other resources could be mobilized would be "very much informed by the quantification of the detailed needs".

The estimated cost of damage due to Hurricane Joaquin - a much weaker storm - was about $100 million.

Support
Riley explained that the role of the CDEMA coordinating unit is to support national governments, and that as such, the outcomes of the report will be "recommendations".

"What I will say, though, is that we had similarly supported the government of The Bahamas in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin last year, and there were a number of recommendations that had been made in terms of strengthening the national level systems, focusing on specific areas of training like strengthening the emergency operations center, and those types of things, and these recommendations were taken on board," she said.

"I think there is a strong signal that the government of The Bahamas has taken on board a number of the recommendations emerging from these types of interventions."

IMF
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) "stands ready" to help the authorities of member countries as they deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, according to IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

Lagarde late last week issued a statement expressing "deep concern and sympathy for the countries affected by Hurricane Matthew", which she acknowledged as "the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean in almost a decade".

Said Lagarde,"We are very saddened by the reports of lives lost and widespread destruction. Several countries have suffered damage from the storm, including Colombia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and The Bahamas.

"Haiti, which is still recovering from a catastrophic earthquake six years ago, appears to have suffered some of the worst effects of the storm. We are very concerned by reports of extensive loss of life, flooding and destruction, particularly in the southwestern part of the country that received the strongest impact from Hurricane Matthew.

"The fund stands ready to help the authorities of member countries as they deal with the aftermath of this catastrophe."

K. Quincy Parker, Guardian Business Editor

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