Prime minister Skerrit has described as heart wrenching, the loss of life from the devastating passage of Tropical storm Erika.
Erika hit the island on Thursday August 28, 2015 and caused, in the words of the prime minister, “extensive damage across our small island after floods swamped villages, destroyed homes and wiped out roads.”
However, he said in an address to the nation on Friday night, that the loss of life is of greatest concern.
The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) today mounted an assessment mission to Dominica, following the devastating passage of Tropical Storm Erika over the island, Thursday.
The CDEMA Coordinating Unit has activated the Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) given the preliminary reports of significant impact to Dominica from Tropical Storm Erika. The RRM is an arrangement for the coordination of disaster response among CDEMA Participating States, and Regional and International Agencies.
There are reports of casualties and damage to infrastructure:
25-30 persons presumed missing in the north-eastern and south-eastern areas of Dominica,
Three (3) bodies have been recovered to date.
Airport remains closed
Port-au-Prince – Edward Greene, Division Chief of the Technical Cooperation Division of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) held talks yesterday with the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Haiti that were described as both “frank and productive”. In addition, Greene met with a senior official of CARIFESTA, the Caribbean Festival of the Arts, and affirmed the Bank’s commitment to support of the creative arts. Haiti is playing host to CARIFESTA XII from August 21-30.
Representatives of Caribbean businesses along with financiers and government officers in the clean energy sector will get a better understanding of how to plan and prepare for bankable projects in renewable energy and energy efficiency this week. Some 30 project owners, developers, funders, financiers and consultants from several Caribbean countries are attending a Regional workshop on Financing Tools and Approaches for Sustainable Energy Projects.
Barbados is to establish a Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Energy Minister Darcy Boyce has said.
Boyce, who held talks with Paolo Serpi, Italy’s Special Envoy to the Caribbean, said that the centre, which is expected to be inaugurated at the end of October, would ensure that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries all had the same standards in respect of renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as similar technologies and the necessary legislation in place.
The first ever Caribbean Forum on Climate-Smart Agriculture has ended here with the organizers saying it provided an opportunity to promote and support options for adapting the Caribbean agricultural sector to climate change.
Haiti’s Foreign Minister the Honourable Lener Renaud and Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque agreed on the need for greater involvement by the international community in the matter involving the repatriation and deportation of Haitian migrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent from the Dominican Republic.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) agenda for reducing risks and building resilience in the region got a much-needed boost recently. Twenty-three disaster risk management and community development professionals from 15 countries gathered at the headquarters of Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for an intensive five-day workshop on project design and implementation organised by Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (CDRRF).
The twelfth edition of the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA XII) opened last night with a plethora of exciting performances, speeches and fireworks! The event began with a parade of all the countries represented dressed in their traditional country wear and arriving in the Haitian traditional mode of transportation, tap-taps! It was a scene of pure excitement, vibrant colors and smiles all around. The Haitians were very gracious and the refrain “welcome to Haiti!” was a common feature of the night’s proceedings.