Hurricane Jeanne is the Latest Storm to Wreak Havoc in the Caribbean

Hurricane Jeanne swept through Haiti and the Dominican Republic, leaving hundreds of thousands in desperate need of food and clean water. In Haiti, over, 2,000 deaths have been reported, and thousands more missing. More bodies are retrieved daily and deposited in overflowing makeshift morgues.

CRS has committed $130,000 to help those in need, and received another $200,000 from the Diana Lewis Foundation. CRS/Haiti also won $14,000 from Comme Il Faut, a private enterprise, for the purchase of food and non-food items.

For the past month, several major hurricanes have swept through Latin America and the Caribbean, affording residents little time to recover from one storm, before bracing for the next potential disaster. This region of the world, whose closest country (Cuba) is located just 135 miles off the southern coast of the United States and is home to 16 million people, has experienced devastating floods, food shortages, and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

In Grenada, Hurricane Ivan left 60,000 people homeless, representing two-thirds of the country’s entire population. In Cuba alone, damage from Hurricane Charley and Ivan was estimated at $1 billion dollars. Similar figures can only be expected from other countries as their infrastructures and buildings were destroyed or left compromised from relentless winds, rains, and flooding from the back-to-back hurricanes.

CRS’ Lynn Renner, who is part of the emergency team sent to the region, was one of the first CRS staff to arrive in Grenada in the wake of Ivan. In a phone conversation shortly following his arrival, he stated, “I have never seen anything like this. The destruction is so complete, every building or structure has been touched in some way.”

Hurricane Charley ripped through Cuba in mid-August, followed by Hurricane Frances, which arrived in the Bahamas the first weekend of September. Hurricane Ivan, the worst hurricane to hit the Caribbean in over a decade, just made its way through Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic. And more recently, Hurricane Jeanne, the sixth hurricane of the season, made its way over Haiti and the Dominican Republic, causing massive flooding in the North.

CRS, along with other humanitarian partner agencies and parishes, has quickly mobilized in-field teams in several areas to conduct assessments in each region, as well as committed funds to help those left homeless or displaced by these devastating storms. To date, CRS has committed $640,000 to ease the suffering of those affected by these hurricanes.

• Bahamas: CRS allocated $10,000 to this country to help emergency relief and programming following Hurricane Francis.
• Cuba: More than $1 billion in damage occurred following the ravaging winds of Hurricane Ivan. This total represents two thirds of Grenada’s population. The island was left without electricity and water, and homes and businesses were subject to looting. CRS immediately allocated $10,000 to the Diocese of St. George’s. Following recent field assessments, CRS committed an additional $100,000 for the purchase of water, blankets, sleeping cots, sheets, canned food, and other relief materials.
• Haiti and the Dominican Republic: In early-to-mid September, Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne combined to leave hundreds of thousands displaced and claimed the lives of several hundred. Hurricane Jeanne killed over 2,000 people and affected over 200,000 in Haiti alone.

These latest series of storms were added to the island’s growing list of disasters that occurred this past year. In May 2004, a powerful tropical storm raged through Haiti and the Dominican Republic, killing several thousand people who were caught in flash floods, and leaving 50,000 more homeless.

To assist those affected by this latest series of storms, CRS has committed $130,000 to help in Haiti, and received another $214,000 from foundation and private enterprise donations. CRS has also committed $50,000 to help those in need in the Dominican Republic.

• Jamaica: CRS committed $30,000 to three dioceses in the area to assuage the suffering caused by Hurricane Ivan. Twelve thousand people were displaced from this powerful storm.

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