Washington, D.C., Sept. 6, 2017 (PAHO/WHO) - Countries in the Caribbean are deploying staff, activating emergency plans, and warning their citizens to prepare for Hurricane Irma, with assistance from the Pan American Health Organization, which has activated its Disaster Task Force and regional response teams throughout the Caribbean.
Hurricane Irma, a category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, has already caused damage in Anguilla, where a hospital lost its roof and critical facilities were damaged, as well as Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, and the British Virgin Islands. The intense storm continues to head northwest and is forecast to hit the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Turks and Caicos, Cuba and the Bahamas where the Ministries of Health and National Emergency Management Offices are on high alert and ready to cope with the impact of the storm.
Dr. Ciro Ugarte, who heads PAHO's Health Emergencies Department said. "We are supporting the countries affected and those in the path of this terrible storm with all our available resources. We have ready teams of technical experts in water and sanitation, health infrastructure, damage and needs assessment, logistics, coordination, and humanitarian supplies management to help them cope with the emergency."
PAHO's Disaster Task Force is holding daily meetings and pre-positioning emergency supplies for the countries, including Emergency Medical Kits and Cholera Kits in case they are needed. Four experts in infrastructure, sanitary engineering and biomedical engineering are being pre-deployed in the Bahamas, Antigua and Turks and Caicos.
Anticipating Hurricane Irma's possible landfall, four experts will be deployed post-disaster in St. Kitts, Anguilla, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands. The regional response team is on alert in case more resources are needed.
In Haiti, PAHO's office has coordinated with the Ministry of Health and sent 5 teams to departments that could be affected by the hurricane. These teams include experts in epidemiology, logistics, and coordination to work with local health officials.
PAHO is also making available its Emergency Fund for disasters and has been in contact with other agencies to mobilize additional resources for affected countries.
