No Canadian deaths have been reported as a result of Hurricane Melissa making landfall in the Caribbean, the MP who oversees Canada’s foreign aid said Wednesday.
Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development, said Canada is monitoring the situation “very closely” and stands ready to assist with any local requests for logistics or humanitarian assistance.
“It’s a huge disaster. It’s class 5, it’s the biggest Jamaica has ever seen in history,” Sarai said on Parliament Hill.
“There is nothing that can withstand that pressure.”
Sarai noted that Cuba and Jamaica have obtained $4 million from a United Nations emergency fund to which Canada has contributed more than $29 million this year.
There have been similar disbursements from Canadian-supported funds administered by the Red Cross and the World Food Program, and from Canadian projects supporting hurricane resilience, his office said.
“We are working with both governments to see what else we can do to help (and) any humanitarian aid we can offer,” Sarai said.
“If any requests are made, I think Canada will look at them quite favorably, but we will make that assessment once those requests are made.”
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Global Affairs Canada sent its rapid deployment team to the region to provide emergency response and consular assistance to Canadian citizens.
The department said consular officials are “ready to provide assistance to Canadians as needed.” He said since Oct. 23, Global Affairs Canada has received 138 requests for information from Canadians in the region.
“To date, we are not aware of any Canadian citizens who have been injured or killed as a result of this hurricane,” an email from the department reads.
The email said there are 2,113 Canadians registered in Jamaica, 1,806 in Cuba, 4,134 in the Dominican Republic, 3,230 in Haiti, 1,506 in the Cayman Islands, 548 in the Bahamas and 235 in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Global Affairs Canada said the Canadian High Commission in Jamaica has temporarily reduced non-consular operations and the building will remain inaccessible until further notice. He said the high commission remains operational remotely and that consular calls are being handled in Ottawa.
The Canadian Embassy in Cuba remains operational with reduced staff, he said, adding that all staff at Canadian missions in the region are “safe and accounted for.”
Before the hurricane made landfall on Tuesday in Jamaica, Global Affairs Canada had been warning Canadians in the region to register with the department, follow local shelter and evacuation orders and avoid misinformation online.
Global Affairs Canada said the situation with Hurricane Melissa is “rapidly evolving” and that Canadians in the region should avoid all travel to Jamaica, Haiti and Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Holguín and Las Tunas in Cuba.
He also said Canadians should avoid non-essential travel to the southeast and central Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands and Bermuda.
The hurricane has caused widespread power outages and dozens of deaths.
“Global Affairs Canada is closely monitoring the situation in the region and we are in contact with humanitarian organizations on the ground to better understand the needs of those affected,” the department said.
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