Support for hurricane ravaged Dominica continues
The Governments and people of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States continue to actively support their sister country Dominica following the devastating passage of Category 5 Hurricane Maria. This is report is continually updated with the latest news as we get it.
Published 7 years ago, updated 7 months ago
Lots of yachting visitors are needed in these islands over the coming season. Some hotels will not be functioning and land tourists are more easily put off, so let us give these islands some business next season and show our appreciation!
Chris Doyle
18 November: A special Dominica Christmas Fund
https://www.gofundme.com/bringin-christmas-to-caribbean-kids
This Christmas these are the scenes of devastation that many children in the Caribbean will wake up to.
Our next mission is to deliver Christmas Presents to some of these kids and bring a little bit of Christmas cheer to at least a few of them. We decided it would better to start a different fund instead of using the existing one we already have in place – and this campaign will be very short, just a matter of a few weeks.
We have already had a couple of donations, and here in Antigua (where we are currently based) the very kind people at AllSupply Shipping have agreed to donate any shipping costs incurred bringing in ‘presents and toys’ from the USA which is a fantastic gesture giving us access to buy in bulk and import toys, books etc.
Please help us make this another successful campaign by donation just a few dollars, Pounds, Yen or whatever and help us bring Christmas to the Kids of the Caribbean.
Mark Tracey Lavezzi
17 November: Current Needs in Dominica
A charity called Feed My Sheep MGT (based in Mahaut, Dominica ).
A mission orphanage in Mahaut, Dominica, functioning as the official shelter for the whole town, for all those rendered homeless in the village. They are caring for more than 80 + people. The mission is in a church.
Reports are that they don’t want any more rice, beans, tuna or sardines. Everyone is tired of them, especially the children. They need treats for the children: sweets, peanut butter, jam, breakfast cereal, lollipops, candles (big fat ones), rechargeable flashlight batteries, writing tablets, pens, stationery, SOLAR LIGHTS.
They have water, so don’t need water or a water purifier.
They have a generator, but can only run it 3 hours per day due to the cost of the fuel.
They also need building materials for the village. They can buy building materials tax and VAT tax-free. So money for building supplies is the way to go rather than buying and bringing them.
19 October 2017: Things needed in Dominica
-Cans of Tuna
-Cans of Spam
-Cans of Weiner’s
-Pork & Beans
-Bars of Soap
-Jars of Baby Food
-Nappies
-Sanitary napkins
-Vitamins
-Tubes of Toothpaste
-Toothbrushes
-Hair combs & hair brushes
-Emery boards
-Band-aids
-Anti-itch creme for rashes
-Antibiotic ointment for cuts/scrapes
-Deodorant (men & women)
-quart storage bags of powder laundry detergent (buy big box of detergent and repackage in quart bags)
-garbage bags
-toilet paper
-Lysol/409 cleaning liquid
10 October 2017: $2M in bricks, galvanize and food from Trinidad for Dominica
http://newsday.co.tt/2017/10/09/2m-in-bricks-galvanize-food-for-dominica/
8 October 2017: Hurricane Maria Situation Report
This report is produced by the United Nations in collaboration with humanitarian partners in Dominica. It covers the period from 4 to 7 October 2017. The next report will be issued on or around 12 October 2017.
Urgent: Information required from vessels traveling to Dominica
28 September 2017: Current Status in Dominica, reports coming in hourly from SSCA contacts and marine associations
ALL of these groups assisting with the Dominica relief effort are doing the immediate heavy lifting, and they are sharing assets. None of the below use donations to fund salaries, they need funds for fuel, supplies, the life-giving immediate help that will allow recovery to start.
https://www.gofundme.com/hurricane-irma-2017
Our 350-ton ocean going tug “Flying Buzzard” arrived in Roseau, Dominica this morning crammed full of supplies. We have all the available local intelligence about Dominica including aid required, security and access and our Captain Mike there now is getting the latest. We are also working with Sea Shepherds’ ship that also just arrived there with aid, they are going to ship some of our supplies too. Our boat will be making at least 2 more round trips to Grenada and St. Lucia.
Captain Ray Thackeray
Executive Director
International Rescue Group
Mobile +1 (954) 348-4409
http://www.internationalrescuegroup.org
Sea Shepherd is using its ship assets to also carry cargo into Dominica/Rosea and is coordinating loads with IRG. They will carry IRG’s relief supplies.
One sailboat from Trinidad is in process of taking supplies into Portsmouth. IRG is helping them make arrangements with PAYS (Portsmouth Authority Yacht Security) team to meet boat(s) and guide to customs dock with a waiting team to unload and distro items.
From Jesse James/Trinidad SSCA Host
MacarioAdvantage (Magoe Johnson POC) will leave Grenada around the first or second week of December. They have coordinated to meet with a MacarioAdvantage funded container ship from Miami with supplies for Dominica, likely for Portsmouth distro. Not sure where the container ship will offload, likely Roseau.
https://www.sailopo.com/h1.aspx
OPO/Hank Schmidt is doing same relief transport for St. Martin and Dominica from the northern approaches. He will also go to Portsmouth and is working closely with PAYS. His website has donation requests, and he is providing a willing crew to those vessels wanting to transport items.
Antigua, Searcy (Richard Hackett) has been asked by Antigua to support relief efforts for Dominica from Antigua. They have in place a disaster coordinator for Antigua.
http://www.naturefoundationsxm.org
Sint Maartin – Tadzo has finally come up online after the disaster. His organization office servers were damaged, he is, however reachable by email at nfsxmmanager <manager@naturefoundationsxm.org> if a local (and marine savvy) contact is needed.
This is a licensed nonprofit and very reliable on the ground contact for Sint Maarten.
Our thanks to Joan Conover, SSCA CS Coordinator, for this information.
Local Dominica Radio Station helping with post-hurricane updates, relief effort and locating loved ones: https://www.facebook.com/dominicabroadcasting.station
Martinique Cruisers Net DOMINICA relief update:
Yesterday (Sat 23 Sept), we took delivery at Marina du Marin of two truckloads of goods from the Carrefour market at C.C. Annette (non-perishable food, bottled water, UHT milk, and personal hygiene products). Carrefour assigned four employees to help us out.
Two dozen+ volunteers (cruisers, Martinique Yachting Association and members of the local community) worked for many hours to unload the vans, shuttle the goods from the parking lot to the fuel dock and load them aboard the 15-meter catamaran Belline II. Marina du Marin graciously allowed us to use their fuel dock and electric utility cart for the loading effort.
Captain Arlette, first mate Jean-Pierre and crew Fionn, Diane and Craig departed Marin bound for Roseau very early this morning. In light of the security threat in Roseau, Douglas Rapier (Douglas Yacht Services) was instrumental in arranging a secure, offshore rendezvous point with escort vessels.
Antigua helps Dominica
The Government of Antigua has agreed to buy 2×40′ container of food to be shipped to Dominica.
These 2×40′ reefer units belonged to Whitchurch. [A company in Barbuda.]
They were brought to Antigua because of the hurricane.
Since Whitchurch is destroyed they were contacted them to sell the items to the Government of Antigua to be sent to Dominica as relief supplies, instead of waiting for the next Tropical ship which would get to Dominica next weekend.
An innovative approach to helping the people of Dominica.
Hurricane Maria: the UK pledges £5m to Dominica after island ravaged by the storm
A detachment of the Special Services Unit (SSU) of the Royal Grenada Police Force departed the Maurice Bishop International Airport for Dominica on Saturday morning.
They will join other regional forces as part of the Regional Security System (RSS).
These Grenadian officers are trained in specialized areas of peacekeeping.
They are the second contingent following the deployment of communication and logistics officers who are already in Dominica to support the CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU).
The third batch of officers is on standby for departure to Dominica.
SOURCE: RGPF
UPDATE: As part of the whole-of-government response to the state of emergency declared by the Dominican government on September 22, the HMCS St. John’s is en route to Dominica to provide humanitarian assistance. HMCS St. John’s is expected to arrive on station tomorrow morning.
Cruisers in Trinidad delivering aid to Dominica
In cooperation with Jesse James and Power Boats, Trinidad Cruisers will be collecting relief supplies for Dominica stricken by Hurricane Maria. Below is a list of relief supplies that they need. Donations will be accepted daily at 9:00 am by the Dockside market at Power Boats, Trinidad, starting on Tuesday, 26 September. If you are unable to donate any of the items listed, you may make cash donations to Jesse James and a group of volunteers will go shopping for additional supplies. Jesse has recruited a boat to sail the donations to Dominica at the end of this month, so time is of the essence.
Power Boats
Tel:(868) 634 4303 Fax:(868) 634 4327 ,VHF Channel 72
pbmfl@powerboats.co.tt
- Tarps, sails suitable for covering roofs
- Rope, lines
- Tools (shovels, hammers, saws, machetes, etc)
- Lights (flashlights, Luci lights, head lights)
- Batteries
- Buckets
- Bleach and cleaning supplies
- First aid kits/materials (antiseptic creams/lotions, bandaids/plasters, etc)
- Charcoal
- Canned food
- Baby food/formula and diapers
- Feminine hygiene products
- Crayons and coloring books
- (No used clothes, please
Original News Article
“We’ve lost all that money can buy”, Prime Minister Roosevelt had disclosed after surveying the widespread damage to houses and infrastructure. Feedback from an SSCA contact in Dominica: “We just received word from the pastor’s wife of the church we attended that the situation there is really bad. The roof blew off the church and everything was lost. The only roofs left on buildings/houses are the ones with concrete. She said that people are walking around in a daze and no relief has come in a week…People are homeless, hungry, and hopeless.”
Hurricane Maria left medical facilities on Dominica “worse than in a war zone,” according to the country’s leader. The Caribbean island’s main hospital has been without power since the Category 5 storm hit late Monday, killing at least 15 and injuring many others. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said the facility’s intensive care unit had been destroyed and dialysis machines were down. The backup generator at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Roseau, which is located on the southwest coast of Dominica, was also flooded during the storm.
“Every village, every street, every cranny, every person in Dominica was impacted by the hurricane,” he added.
Many parts of the island have not been surveyed yet and the death toll is expected to rise.
In addition to the island-wide lack of electricity, he said many communities remained without drinking water or basic necessities.
Communication services are also very limited, leaving many families in the dark about the fate of their loved ones.
The Governments and people of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) the Member States
The government of close neighbor Antigua and Barbuda, while still itself in recovery mode from another Category Five Hurricane, Irma’s destructive passage over Barbuda, made an immediate pledge of US$300,000, to which Tourism Minister Asot Michael added a further US$100,000. Antigua-Barbuda’s state and private broadcast media, in particular, ABS Radio and TV have been providing a critical connection between Dominica’s residents and the rest of the world, especially during the period when all broadcast and internet services were down. ABS TV provided the first broadcast by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit to the world after his initial aerial tour of the devastation.
Barbados was also quick out the blocks, putting two coast guard vessels at Dominica’s disposal to help transport technical personnel and supplies. The vessels left Bridgetown loaded with water and other emergency supplies donated by Barbadians in heavily supported collection drives. Barbados has also arranged to provide much-needed doctors and nurses to assist with critical medical services.
Read a full report on CARICOM support for Dominica at http://caricom.org/media-center/communications/press-releases/strong-caricom-support-for-hurricane-ravaged-dominica
Related to following destinations: Dominica
Related to the following Cruising Resources: Cruising Impact, Hurricanes and Tropical Cyclones, Weather
From Chris Doyle:
Dominica Donations
This is for those who would like to contribute more personally. This post is for the PAYS group. We are still out of touch but we know they will need funds and Hank Schmitt, who organizes the annual Yacht Appreciation Week in Portsmouth and the PAYS moorings, now has enough money for the moorings and all further contributions will go directly to the PAYS group for hurricane relief.
If PAYS get more then they need, they will distribute to the local community. Right now, you may be confused because while there is a St. Martin Relief Fund on his site, the next part just says moorings contributions. This will change soon, His webmaster is working on it so it should change in a day or two, and if you want to wait, fine. Otherwise, you can contribute to the Caribbean Mooring Field and be assured the funds will be going directly to PAYS. I just did so.
Hank is a great guy, he has done a huge amount for PAYS, and I have full confidence this is the best place to donate for PAYS. We are going to get everything up and running and PAYS Appreciation Week will be happening this season in the second half of February. Please help if you can.
https://www.sailopo.com/h1.aspx
Our thanks to Sally Erdle of Caribbean Compass for passing this information on:
Several boats running humanitarian aid trips to Dominica since Wednesday have reported that the situation on the docks is totally under control and there are no issues with security.
One boat spent the night on a mooring and got boarded by thieves looking for water apparently, but they were not armed and quickly left the boat when one of the crew woke up.
The security issue in Roseau is questionable, so wandering around the town is best avoided.
In Portsmouth, the situation is reported to be under control.
Commercial ferries are operating as of September 24. Commercial ferries are available from Cox and Company departing from Portsmouth, Dominica. For more information, please see the Cox and Company website. http://www.coxcoltd.com/lexpress-des-iles/destinations/dominica/
Evacuation helicopter flights are planned for Monday, Sept. 25 from Douglas-Charles Airport. Be prepared for long waits. Passengers may be allowed to carry on one small bag. Medications and any other essential items should be carried on your person. Anyone wishing to depart should be at the airport as early as 0900.
American Citizens should consult the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, and the OECS website for further evacuation details: https://bb.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/
Posted on the Facebook Group: Dominica Cruisers by Chris Doyle
Yachts bringing aid to Dominica may need to rethink. Very regrettably yachts bringing supplies to Dominica are getting robbed offshore by armed men in Pirogues. What worried me about this is that it is a societal ill.
In Grenada in Janet, no one looted. The next hurricane there was a lot of looting. After a hurricane, when supermarkets are closed and there is no food, at least breaking in and taking some food has some sort of survival justification for anyone who is actually starving. But it has gone way beyond that.
Now a hurricane is seen as justification for breaking into any kind of store and taking things for free on the grounds that if they take all insurance will pay. This is very wrong. By doing that insurance rates go way up and this gets put into the cost of things you buy from then on.
That kind of permissive attitude has now led to the armed robbery of yachts bringing up aid. This is not stopping all aid but it is stopping some. Including a solar charging system with multiple mains outlets to help people charge their phones and batteries. There is a way too permissive an attitude in Dominica in general about this.
To all my friends in Dominica who know stealing is wrong. It should not be considered acceptable when you have a disaster. It is also going to affect yachting. Because once people have got away with going out to sea and robbing yachts off Dominica, they are likely to continue once the storm is over.
Dominicans who understand this must communicate to their sticky-fingered brethren, and let them know that this kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable.
This hurricane is not a one-off. With global warming, you will get more. It is really dumb to harm those who try to bring you help.