Cayman delivers supplies to storm-ravaged TCI
Simon Boxall of HMCI identifies supplies sent from Cayman, upon arrival in TCI
(CNS Local Life): Ongoing recovery efforts in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) got a welcome boost following an aid mission Wednesday, 27 September to the hurricane-torn jurisdiction by officials from the Cayman Islands. Devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the islands are getting back on their feet with the help of essential supplies like those delivered by the Cayman Islands first-time relief mission to Providenciales, the most populated of the islands.
Following a post-hurricane damage assessment, dialogue between the TCI and Cayman Islands government agencies led to a detailed inventory being sent to Cayman listing required supplies.
The most senior civil servants making the five-hour round trip were Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose and Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) Director McCleary Frederick. The two officials were accompanied by representatives from the Premier’s Office, the Deputy Premier’s Office, Radio Cayman and Government Information Services.
Taking a Cayman Airways chartered plane, the group transported seven generators, 50 packs of tarpaulin, 100 bundles of ice and watershield, inflatable mattresses, batteries, flashlights and toiletries. Health City Cayman Islands and the Health Services Authority both donated boxes of medical supplies.
During the delivery mission, members of the Cayman contingent met with their TCI counterparts to discuss further ways of assisting the country’s post-hurricane recovery efforts. TCI officials the group met included the islands’ Premier Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson; Minister of Home Affairs, Transport and Communications Vaden Delroy Williams; Speaker of the House of Assembly Robert Hall; and the Director of the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies Dr Virginia Clerveaux.
“The Cayman Islands Government communicated its wish to help strategically support its fellow British Overseas Territories that were in harm’s way this active hurricane season,” said Rose.
“This trip was about helping our neighbours in their time of need. We are only too aware of what havoc such storms can wreak. The TCI Government expressed its gratitude to the government and people of the Cayman Islands for their active support.
“We discussed the ongoing recovery efforts mounted by the government, their additional needs and were informed that it had moved on from a response to recovery mode.”
At a post-mission press briefing at Owen Roberts International Airport, Frederick advised that TCI was coping well considering the battering it had received from the two almost back-to-back hurricanes.
“The jurisdiction, which includes eight populated islands, has gone a long way in terms of general clean-up efforts and clearing debris from the roads,” he added.
“The islands’ electricity had recently been restored, schools were expected to reopen on Monday and while some hotels are now fully operational, most are expected to reopen by the end of the year.”
The senior officials added that high-level on-the-ground talks with their counterparts had indicated that TCI needed more technical support and had raised the possibility of seconding Frederick and environmental health officers.
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