UN emergency team heads to Belize before Hurricane Dean landfall

(New York: 20 August): After deploying an emergency team to Peru, in the wake of the earthquake in that country late last Wednesday, and to Jamaica, ahead of Hurricane Dean, the United Nations is sending an additional emergency team to Belize, set to arrive before the same hurricane hits the Central American region.

"Thankfully the number of casualties has been remarkably low, despite the severity of Hurricane Dean," noted John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. "It demonstrates how well prepared the governments of the affected countries have been in advance of this disaster. However, given the level of economic devastation, recovery will be arduous and protracted, even under the best of circumstances," Mr. Holmes added.

Hurricane Dean, which has caused nine deaths in the region so far, entered the eastern Caribbean on Friday, damaging rooftops and flooding streets in St. Lucia, Dominica and Martinique on Friday. It passed over the south of Haiti over the weekend, where more than 5,000 people are in temporary shelters. The Red Cross has provided ambulances and a World Food Programme (WFP) truck has been sent to the city of Jacmel, Haiti, with biscuits and two aid kits for 1,000 people. Clean-up operations are ongoing at Jacmel Hospital, which is reported to be in bad condition, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has sent drugs to that hospital to support 2,000 people for three months. The United Nations stands ready to release emergency funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund if required.

The banana industry in St. Lucia and Martinique were severely hit when the hurricane passed over those islands on Friday. In Martinique alone, the entire banana crop was destroyed, along with 70 per cent of the nation's sugar cane plantations, causing an estimated $200 million worth of damage. The Government of Dominica also reported damage to the country's agriculture, of which banana production constitutes a significant part.

Yesterday, the hurricane brought floods to the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, as it passed just south of the island. Preliminary findings reveal significant damage to roofs, storm surges, flooding, collapsed structures and impassable roadways throughout the country. Severe wind damaged power lines in the Riverton City area of Kingston and St. Andrew. There have also been reports of damage to the water supply system.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679;Dizery Salim, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.