CGR Providing Relief and Training in Cuba

HOLGUÍN—A Canadian Global Response team arrived in Cuba last week to help assess damages as the recovery phase of Hurricane Matthew takes place. With winds reaching 260 km/h (160 mph), Hurricane Matthew dissipated in the middle of October but claimed the lives of between 600-1650 people, and an estimated $14 billion dollars in damages.

Apart from Hurricane Ike in 2008, Matthew is the costliest hurricane in Cuba’s history.

View of cliff erosion and wave size reduction the morning after Hurricane Matthew.
View of cliff erosion and wave size reduction the morning after Hurricane Matthew.
Abraham Shepherd, President of CGR, is providing disaster relief training for local partners who are volunteering in the recovery process. The team is also conducting a vision trip to help identify future needs.

CGR relief and clean-up recovery will largely be provided in the municipality of Maisí. This area was one of the hardest hit communities following Hurricane Matthew. Michael Krause of Kitchener, Ontario, is volunteering on the ground as project director to help in this capacity. He also serves as the CGR Coordinator for the GTA area and SW Ontario.

Essentials such as nutritious food and clean water have been purchased to assist locals, in addition to materials for buildings that lost their roofing during the heavy winds.

In anticipation of future needs that are currently being met on the ground, please consider giving during the Christmas season towards the recovery efforts in Cuba. Funds will be used to provide shelter, necessities, and disaster relief training to help these communities build resiliency.

DONATE TO HURRICANE MATTHEW RELIEF

Volunteer opportunities will also exist throughout the recovery process, with cleanup teams being called upon. We are requesting potential volunteers to contact the office by email or phone. Further service opportunities and information about disaster relief efforts in the Caribbean in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew will be made available.

HAITI - As of Monday evening, Haiti and eastern Cuba are under a hurricane warning, with Haiti bearing the brunt of the storm in the next 36 hours. Jamaica and parts of the Dominican Republic have a tropical storm warning, while today the governors of Florida and North Carolina declared a state of emergency.

Visible satellite image of Matthew as a Category 4 hurricane at 2210 MST on October 4, 2016, just off the coast of Haiti. The eye is clearly visible.
Visible satellite image of Matthew as a Category 4 hurricane at 2210 MST on October 4, 2016, just off the coast of Haiti. The eye is clearly visible.
With winds already reaching over 220 kph (140mph), officials have urged residents in Haiti to move to shelters away from danger areas.

There has already been a confirmed death in Haiti, adding to a 16-year-old who was killed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and a man Friday in Colombia.

“People who are impacted by things like flooding and mudslides hopefully would get out and relocate because that’s where we have seen loss of life in the past,” said senior hurricane specialist Richard Pasch from the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

“This is likely to be a humanitarian disaster [in Haiti],” stated meteorologist Ari Sarsalari from The Weather Channel, particularly as the country was hit with four tropical storms in 2008, with hundreds killed in Hurricane Hanna.

The situation in Haiti will be more severe because of severe rainfall, creating mudslides compounded by deforestation, while other areas of the Caribbean and Southeastern States prepare for the hurricane.

“I know my house could easily blow away. All I can do is pray and then pray some more,” said Ronlande Francois, interviewed by the Chicago Tribune in front of her tarp-walled shack where she lives with her unemployed husband and three children.

Canadian Global Response is actively monitoring the situation and has already been in contact with representatives in the region. More details about the specific disaster relief response to Hurricane Matthew will be made available, yet basic necessities such as clean water, food, and shelter will be provided.

You can also help those impacted by Hurricane Matthew by providing hope through the donation link below. Please consider making a financial difference that will be used to purchase these basic necessities for survivors and help in the relief process. These funds are being collected in anticipation of these needs, yet if they are not required they will be used to provide training in Cuba to help communities build resiliency.