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CARICOM SECRETARIAT TO ASSIST HURRICANE-HIT MEMBER STATES

Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Mr. Edwin W. Carrington will lead a small team from the CARICOM Secretariat to Grenada on Friday, 10 September to assess the damage caused by hurricane Ivan which ravaged the island on Tuesday. While in Grenada, Mr. Carrington and team will speak to Prime Minister, Dr. the Honorable Keith Mitchell and citizens of Grenada with respect to the CARICOM Secretariat's support in the rebuilding of the CARICOM Member State.

Briefing staff of the CARICOM Secretariat on Wednesday, 8 September, on the status of the countries affected by the recent hurricanes, the CARICOM Secretary General said Grenada has suffered the worst devastation by hurricane Ivan. Ivan reportedly claimed the lives of at least twenty-five persons and caused extensive damage to the residences of the Prime Minister and the Governor General, among others.

Mr. Carrington said based on an earlier teleconference with Head of the Caribbean Disaster Response Emergency Agency (CDERA), Mr. Jeremy Collymore, eighty percent of the homes in Grenada have been destroyed. He added, “Our concern here is to determine how we can best respond,” and noted that the British had deployed a naval vessel, HMS Richmond to assist the citizens of Grenada.

Acknowledging that Barbados, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have also been affected by Ivan, Mr. Carrington pointed out that Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is the second most affected country, and he indicated that the Secretariat will seek to assist all affected Member States.

Mr. Carrington said hurricane Frances which stormed through The Bahamas last weekend caused extensive damage to that group of islands which amounted to US$125 million.

He disclosed that he plans to travel to that country also in the near future to assess the aftermath of Frances and to extend the support of the CARICOM Secretariat.

The CARICOM Secretary General said he has been in contact with Prime Minister, the Honorable Perry Christie who implored that CARICOM pay special attention to Grenada.

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