Contact: Anna Nelson, , +41 22 730 2282; Florian Westphal, Head of Media Services, +4122 730 2282, +41 79 217 32 80 cell; both with the International Committee of the Red Cross
MEDIA ADVISORY, August 22 /Standard Newswire/ -- As Hurricane Dean bears down on the Mexico-Belize border, Red Cross branches in the region are on maximum alert and standing by to provide assistance as needed.
The Mexican Red Cross has deployed 150 members of its National Intervention Team to the coastal city of
Early warnings were also issued to the public via the Red Cross in different dialects on the radio, aimed at reaching out to the region's indigenous population. Local disaster relief specialists are working with the authorities to coordinate disaster planning.
In neighbouring
Tents, tarps, hygiene items and food have been pre-positioned in the area, according to Alberto Vasquez, a disaster management specialist with the Red Cross in northern
Government officials advised communities to evacuate and stay in shelters, where volunteers from the Belize Red Cross Society have also been deployed.
The International Federation's Pan-American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU), located in
Hurricane Dean has already cut a path of destruction through the eastern
In
According to the Jamaica Red Cross, affected communities are in need of food support, along with tarpaulins, cooking utensils and hygiene items.
Some of the hardest-hit areas are nomally sustained by farming and fishing activities, and the Red Cross says the recovery effort will require special attention to helping people regain their livelihoods and repair their homes.
In response to Dean, the Jamaica Red Cross deployed trained managers in evacuation shelters, 200 food packages and bulk food supplies in St. Catherine,
The Red Cross' community disaster response teams were activated to help with assessments, while professionals trained in psychosocial support were also mobilized to visit people who lost their homes and belongings.
Preparedness measures, taken by the National Society to pre-position relief stocks two days before the hurricane hit, have been credited with enabling the Red Cross to respond rapidly and effectively to the disaster.
The storm also battered
Around 450 homes were destroyed and over 870 were damaged by Hurricane Dean. The Haitian Red Cross Society is holding a meeting with officials on Tuesday to discuss the damage and needs of affected communities.
The storm largely spared the