UN teams assessing aftermath in Caribbean nations hit byHurricane Dean

As the first major Atlantic hurricane ofthe season made landfall in Mexico today after wreakinghavoc across the Caribbean region, United Nations officialsare surveying the aftermath of the storm as well as the mostcritical needs of those affected.

Hurricane Dean has nowweakened from a category 5 – the highest level forhurricanes – to a category 3 storm after striking theYucatan peninsula in Mexico earlier today, UN SpokespersonMichele Montas told reporters in New York.

“The UnitedNations Country Team is working with authorities to preparethe region for the hurricane,” she said, noting that some530 storm shelters – with a capacity of 73,000 people –have been set up on the eastern part of the Yucatan. The UNChildren’s Fund (UNICEF) has also pre-positionedmedicines, food, water and blankets.

The UN has sentDisaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) teams toJamaica and Belize. A state of emergency had been declaredin the southern part of Jamaica and some 6,500 people aretemporarily living in 268 shelters. Preliminary findingsreveal significant damage to roofs, storm surges, flooding,collapsed structures and impassable roadways throughout thecountry. There have also been reports of severe damage topower lines and to the water supply system.

UNICEFestimated that 90,000 children had been directly orindirectly affected in Jamaica alone. The agency haddistributed hygiene kits, water purification tablets andwater containers in anticipation of the hurricane.

UNagencies are assessing the situation in Haiti along with theUN mission in that country (MINUSTAH). The mission is alsosupporting urgent repair works and the distribution of waterand food rations. Some 5,000 people were reported to beliving in shelters, with 406 families affected, 244 homesdestroyed and 111 houses damaged.

The hurricane, whichhas caused several deaths in the region so far, entered theeastern Caribbean on Friday, damaging rooftops and floodingstreets in Saint Lucia, Dominica and Martinique.

“Thankfully the number of casualties has beenremarkably low, despite the severity of Hurricane Dean,”stated UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian AffairsJohn Holmes.

“It demonstrates how well prepared thegovernments of the affected countries have been in advanceof this disaster. However, given the level of economicdevastation, recovery will be arduous and protracted, evenunder the best of circumstances,” Mr. Holmes, who is alsoUN Emergency Relief Coordinator,added.

ENDS

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