(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana), Thursday, 5 September 2019 – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chairman and Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Honourable Allen. M. Chastanet on Thursday September 5th led a High Level delegation to The Bahamas, which has been ravaged by Hurricane Dorian.
The slow-moving hurricane brought strong winds, heavy rain and a life-threatening storm surge to The Bahamas, flooding homes and entire villages; with the death toll linked to the hurricane rising to seven
( Note: As of September 8th, 2019, the death toll in The Bahamas as a result of Hurricane Dorian was confirmed as 40 people with numbers likely to increase).
CARICOM and OECS Member Countries have pledged their support and Prime Minister Chastanet will be accompanied to The Bahamas by Barbados Prime Minister, Honourable Mia Mottley; Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Chairman and Saint Lucia’s Minister for Tourism Hon. Dominic Fedee; Secretary-General of CARICOM Ambassador Irwin LaRocque; and the Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Mr. Ronald Jackson.
The CARICOM Chairman has been in regular contact with The Bahamas Prime Minister Honourable Dr. Hubert Minnis and in a statement released this week, Prime Minister Chastanet says that the Caribbean is in full solidarity with the Government and People of The Bahamas and stands ready to give whatever assistance is required to deal with the effects of this tragedy.
“Immediately, the emphasis must be on assisting our brothers and sisters in The Bahamas in getting back on their feet in the quickest possible time,” he said.
In advance of Hurricane Dorian, CDEMA took the lead to coordinate the Regional Response Mechanism and deployed two Rapid Needs Assessment teams to The Bahamas.
The purpose of the visit is to continue discussions and see where CARICOM can provide more immediate support.