More than 38 tons of humanitarian cargo left this Saturday from the Regional Logistics Center for Humanitarian Assistance of Panama (CLRAH) bound for Jamaica, while another 24 tons will be sent in the next few hours to Cuba, as part of the immediate response to the devastation caused by the Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean.
“Over the last three days we have worked to mobilize more than 38 tons of essential humanitarian items to Jamaica, one of the countries most affected by the hurricane,” explained Stephany Murillo, regional manager for the Americas of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC).
The shipment includes kitchen and hygiene kits, plastic tarps, tools for temporary accommodation, blankets and plastic buckets, among other basic emergency supplies. Added to this air aid are 30 additional tons of materials that are already on the sea route to Jamaica, on a ship that left Panama on October 29.
Murillo announced that a flight to Cuba, operated by Copa Airlines, is being coordinated to ship the remaining 24 tons.
According to a joint statement from CLRAH, the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) and the IFRC, the institutions are working closely to ensure the delivery of supplies to the countries hardest hit by the hurricane.
The passage of Melissa has left more than fifty dead in the Caribbean, mainly in Haiti and Jamaica, where rescue teams still face difficulties in accessing the most affected areas.
Murillo warned that the catastrophic damage could turn this into “one of the largest humanitarian operations in the region of the Americas,” with the estimated transfer of some one hundred tons of aid in the coming months.
EFE/OnCuba
