No Canadians have been reported lifeless because of Hurricane Melissa making landfall in the Caribbean, the MP overseeing Canada’s overseas support stated Wednesday.
Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for worldwide improvement, stated Canada is “very carefully” monitoring the state of affairs and is able to assist with any native requests for logistics or humanitarian help.
“It’s an enormous catastrophe. It’s a category 5, it’s the largest that Jamaica has ever seen in recorded historical past,” Sarai stated on Parliament Hill.
“There’s nothing that may face up to that stress.”
Sarai famous that Cuba and Jamaica have each tapped US$4 million from a United Nations emergency fund to which Canada has contributed greater than $29 million this yr.
There have been comparable disbursements from Canadian-supported funds run by the Purple Cross and World Meals Programme, and Canadian initiatives supporting hurricane resilience, his workplace stated.
“We’re working with each governments to see no matter else we are able to do to assist (and) any humanitarian reduction we are able to do,” Sarai stated.
“If any request is made, I feel Canada would take a look at it fairly favourably, however we’ll make that evaluation as soon as these requests are made.”
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International Affairs Canada despatched its fast deployment staff to the area to supply emergency response and consular help to Canadian residents.
The division stated consular officers stand “prepared to supply help to Canadians as wanted.” It stated that since October 23, International Affairs Canada has acquired 138 requests for data from Canadians within the area.
“To this point, we’re not conscious of any Canadian residents who’ve been injured or killed because of this hurricane,” reads an e-mail from the division.
The e-mail stated there are 2,113 Canadians registered in Jamaica, 1,806 in Cuba, 4,134 within the Dominican Republic, 3,230 in Haiti, 1,506 within the Cayman Islands, 548 within the Bahamas and 235 within the Turks and Caicos Islands.
International Affairs Canada stated the Excessive Fee of Canada to Jamaica has briefly diminished non-consular operations and the constructing will stay inaccessible till additional discover. It stated the excessive fee stays operational remotely and consular calls are being dealt with in Ottawa.
The Embassy of Canada to Cuba stays operational with diminished workers, it stated, including that every one workers at Canadian missions within the area are “protected and accounted for.”
Earlier than the hurricane made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica, International Affairs Canada had been warning Canadians within the area to register with the division, comply with native shelter and evacuation orders and keep away from misinformation on-line.
International Affairs Canada stated the state of affairs with Hurricane Melissa is “evolving rapidly” and that Canadians within the area ought to keep away from all journey to Jamaica, Haiti and to Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas in Cuba.
It additionally stated Canadians ought to keep away from non-essential journey to the southeastern and central Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bermuda.
The hurricane has triggered widespread energy outages and dozens of deaths.
“International Affairs Canada is carefully monitoring the state of affairs within the area, and we’re in touch with humanitarian organizations on the bottom to raised perceive the wants of these affected,” the division stated.
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