No Canadians have been reported dead as a result of Hurricane Melissa making landfall in the Caribbean, the MP overseeing Canada’s foreign aid said Wednesday.
Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development, said Canada is “very closely” monitoring the situation and is ready to help with any local requests for logistics or humanitarian assistance.
“It’s a huge disaster. It’s a class 5, it is the largest that Jamaica has ever seen in recorded history,” Sarai said on Parliament Hill.
“There is nothing that can withstand that pressure.”
Sarai noted that Cuba and Jamaica have both tapped US$4 million from a United Nations emergency fund to which Canada has contributed more than $29 million this year.
There have been similar disbursements from Canadian-supported funds run by the Red Cross and World Food Programme, and Canadian projects supporting hurricane resilience, his office said.
“We’re working with both governments to see whatever else we can do to help (and) any humanitarian relief we can do,” Sarai said.
“If any request is made, I think Canada would look at it pretty favourably, but we’ll make that assessment once those requests are made.”
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Global Affairs Canada sent its rapid deployment team to the region to provide emergency response and consular assistance to Canadian citizens.
The department said consular officials stand “ready to provide assistance to Canadians as needed.” It said that since October 23, Global Affairs Canada has received 138 requests for information from Canadians in the region.
“To date, we are not aware of any Canadian citizens who have been injured or killed as a result of this hurricane,” reads an email from the department.
‘It was violent’: Hurricane Melissa wreaks havoc in Jamaica
The email said there are 2,113 Canadians registered in Jamaica, 1,806 in Cuba, 4,134 in the Dominican Republic, 3,230 in Haiti, 1,506 in the Cayman Islands, 548 in the Bahamas and 235 in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Global Affairs Canada said the High Commission of Canada to Jamaica has temporarily reduced non-consular operations and the building will remain inaccessible until further notice. It said the high commission remains operational remotely and consular calls are being handled in Ottawa.
The Embassy of Canada to Cuba remains operational with reduced staff, it said, adding that all staff at Canadian missions in the region are “safe and accounted for.”
Before the hurricane made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica, Global Affairs Canada had been warning Canadians in the region to register with the department, follow local shelter and evacuation orders and avoid misinformation online.
Global Affairs Canada said the situation with Hurricane Melissa is “evolving quickly” and that Canadians in the region should avoid all travel to Jamaica, Haiti and to Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas in Cuba.
It also said Canadians should avoid non-essential travel to the southeastern and central Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bermuda.
The hurricane has caused widespread power outages and dozens of deaths.
“Global Affairs Canada is closely monitoring the situation in the region, and we are in contact with humanitarian organizations on the ground to better understand the needs of those affected,” the department said.
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