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Yes. It's been a horrible season. I've been volunteering and doing my best to coordinate relief efforts and I've donated what I can. Everyone who can help, should help. Not only has the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast been hit by hurricanes, Mexico has been hit by earthquakes.
Yes. It's been a horrible season. I've been volunteering and doing my best to coordinate relief efforts and I've donated what I can. Everyone who can help, should help. Not only has the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast been hit by hurricanes, Mexico has been hit by earthquakes.
Good that you are doing that. What people need to understand is that for the islands that are worst impacted we are doing with a holocaust. Some islands have no functioning hospitals. No water. No electricity. Food supplies destroyed and tens of thousands of people now homeless, including most of those in the BVI, St Maarten, Barbuda and Dominica. Others living in severely damaged housing.
My focus is on Dominica, as it is independent so has no FEMA to help as (theoretically) does PR and the USVI. My focus is on cash donations. While contributing materials is good, sometimes the logistics of shipping becomes difficult. So the people providing the help also need cash to deal with crises as they emerge, like getting fuel for generators until reliable power is available. I heard that in Dominica supplies are coming in, but then they have to be running around trying to find working trucks to ship the materials to where needed. Also many of these hospitals have been damaged and medical supplies destroyed.
For those who prefer to donate materials some of the islands have an Amazon wish list where the items that they need are listed and so the focus will be on sending what's needed. For instance water purification tablets are probably more important than water bottles as there is no way that sufficient levels of bottled water can be shipped, plus water is needed for cooking, bathing, etc.
I hear those who say why rebuild but what folks need to understand is the Caribbean isn't a mere beach. It is a region which exists in a hurricane zone extending from The Bahamas and Cuba down to Grenada (in terms of the islands vulnerable to severe storms). The vast majority of the populations live in sovereign nations so cannot be relocated. Indeed I don't even think that most people living in PR want to live on the mainland, or whether mainlanders want to see a sudden influx of the 3.5 millions people living in PR and the USVI.
I hope that there will be a greater understanding of the degree to which global climatic change hurts those who are least responsible for carbon emissions. Dominica hit TWICE since 2015. A poor island of 72k but now demolished for the SECOND time in 2 years!
And then there is what happens after the TV cameras move to the next crisis. We learned from Katrina that the after effects are also dire due to the economic damage that occurs.
Irma and Maria have destroyed the tourism and other infrastructure on PR, USVI, BVI, St Maarten, Anguilla, St Barth's and Dominica. They have wiped out the tourist season destroying the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people for maybe the next year or so. Deprived gov'ts of revenues so impacts go even further than the mere sharp reduction in visitor arrivals.
People deprived of income when they need money to rebuild. Hurricane insurance premiums are high and so many of the poorer people don't have adequate coverage, so rebuilding will be a challenge. Luckily in small islands like The BVI, Dominica and Anguilla a communal spirit exists and neighbors are already helping each other to rebuild/repair homes where possible.
Some of these islands are already heavily indebted. PR, USVI and Dominica being examples. Where they will find the money to rebuild? As it is PR's infrastructure was in pretty poor shape.
So as people look to help bear in mind that this is like New Orleans. A recovery which will extend even when power and water come back and the roads are cleared of debris.
Good that you are doing that. What people need to understand is that for the islands that are worst impacted we are doing with a holocaust. Some islands have no functioning hospitals. No water. No electricity. Food supplies destroyed and tens of thousands of people now homeless, including most of those in the BVI, St Maarten, Barbuda and Dominica. Others living in severely damaged housing.
My focus is on Dominica, as it is independent so has no FEMA to help as (theoretically) does PR and the USVI. My focus is on cash donations. While contributing materials is good, sometimes the logistics of shipping becomes difficult. So the people providing the help also need cash to deal with crises as they emerge, like getting fuel for generators until reliable power is available. I heard that in Dominica supplies are coming in, but then they have to be running around trying to find working trucks to ship the materials to where needed. Also many of these hospitals have been damaged and medical supplies destroyed.
For those who prefer to donate materials some of the islands have an Amazon wish list where the items that they need are listed and so the focus will be on sending what's needed. For instance water purification tablets are probably more important than water bottles as there is no way that sufficient levels of bottled water can be shipped, plus water is needed for cooking, bathing, etc.
I hear those who say why rebuild but what folks need to understand is the Caribbean isn't a mere beach. It is a region which exists in a hurricane zone extending from The Bahamas and Cuba down to Grenada (in terms of the islands vulnerable to severe storms). The vast majority of the populations live in sovereign nations so cannot be relocated. Indeed I don't even think that most people living in PR want to live on the mainland, or whether mainlanders want to see a sudden influx of the 3.5 millions people living in PR and the USVI.
I hope that there will be a greater understanding of the degree to which global climatic change hurts those who are least responsible for carbon emissions. Dominica hit TWICE since 2015. A poor island of 72k but now demolished for the SECOND time in 2 years!
Do you know of an reputable group that one can send money for Dominica? Where the money will actually go to help people on the ground? I am looking for one.
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