Displaying items by tag: Caribbean

Last year Hurricane Maria caused damage, deaths, and disruption to Dominica’s communication networks for 65,000 people. Survivors needed to let aid providers know what they needed. When help arrived, it didn’t meet people’s needs. Dominicans described initial silence from aid providers. They were frightened by the lack of information after Maria struck. The first responders were amateur radio operators, civilian volunteers, and diaspora communities on social media. When information from national and international responders finally filtered through, it lacked detail; there were inaccuracies, communication delays, and rumours everywhere. People said they wanted to know what assistance they were entitled to and how decisions were made. But fragmented, late, confusing information in the wrong language left people in the dark. As Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut remind us of the devastation large storms can cause, there is a need to make two-way communication a priority in the aid response effort, so that more lives are saved in the future.

Category 4 Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico in September 2017 and paved the way for revival. Puerto Rican George Santiago returned from the US in summer 2017. Two months later Hurricane Maria turned the mountain stream into a raging river, the town was in shambles without access to food or water, the people were paralysed. Through Southern Baptists, he provided food, water and even washing machines. People asked him ‘Why are you doing this?' His answer included sharing the Gospel. Since the storm, at least 50 people have come to Christ and Santiago has started what he calls a ‘baby church’ for new believers. It's all evidence of God's master plan at work. ‘He placed us in Puerto Rico at the right moment, the perfect moment for a church to give birth,’ he said. Santiago is not alone. Maria has paved the way for enormous spiritual growth in the region.

Despite being susceptible to devastating weather, the island of Dominica has a thriving banana industry that drives much of the economy, but not one tree, village, street, or person was spared the terrifying effects of Hurricane Maria. One of several devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean in September, Maria blasted the tiny island as a Category 5 storm. Communications are down. Drinking water is scarce. Over fifteen were killed and many more injured. Many say the devastation on this island is worse than a war zone. Dominica does not possess the means or infrastructure to rebuild after such a catastrophe. Though the majority claim Christianity (primarily Catholicism), nominalism is rampant, yet we praise God that evangelicals have experienced great growth, from 2% of the population in 1970 to 17% in 2010!

A humanitarian crisis is developing on Antigua as a result of the devastation wreaked on Barbuda by Hurricane Irma, according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne. He told the UN General Assembly, ‘Overnight Antigua’s population increased by almost 3%. I know of no country that could easily cope with such an unplanned and unexpected increase in its population.’ In addition to providing shelter, accommodation, and basic necessities to the evacuated Barbudans, Antigua’s social services need to provide school places for an additional 600 children; medical services for many elderly; and a means of income for the able-bodied. Preliminary estimates place the cost of rebuilding Barbuda at £185 million - over 15% of the country’s GDP. The PM said it was a stretch beyond their reach: ‘Barbuda is not only a natural disaster, it is a humanitarian crisis that now consumes Antigua.’

‘Dear brothers and sisters, Hurricane Irma has dealt a hard blow to our diocese and beyond. We are grateful to Almighty God for sparing our lives, and mourn for those whose lives were ended. I urge you to remember the Apostle Peter when he got out of the boat to join Jesus walking on the water. He was fine until he let the winds and waves distract him from the Lord. When he began to sink, he cried out, “Jesus, save me”. And He did. As we go through these difficult days of cleaning up after Irma and struggling with the loss of life and property, let me urge you to keep your eyes on Jesus. Please pray for one another and do not let Satan cause you to stumble. Many places of worship have been damaged, but few of the flock were taken from us. By God’s grace, we will rebuild and prosper in our Lord Jesus.’

Dominica’s prime minister said, ‘We have lost all that money can buy’ after Hurricane Maria made landfall there on 19 September. Two days later rescue teams were struggling to reach the first victims stranded without power, running water or communications. Sadly, Maria moved along a similar track to Irma, the hurricane that devastated areas two weeks earlier. The military and police on the British Virgin Islands switched from focusing on recovery and cleanup after Irma to preparation for Maria, and started securing safe shelters for residents. Fortunately they were spared the full force. On 21 September, on its way to the Dominican Republic, Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico - the strongest hurricane there since 1928, when 300 people died. Over the coming weeks we can pray for the major relief efforts that will get under way to re-establish communication, restore electricity, and deliver medical aid, food, water, mattresses, clothes and other basic necessities.

Puerto Rico has been in a painful recession since 2006; previous governments dug it deeper into debt by borrowing to pay operating expenses, year after year. For the last two years, officials have been seeking assistance from Washington, testifying before stern congressional committees and even before the supreme court. In May, with creditors at its heels and its coffers depleted, it sought what is essentially bankruptcy relief in federal court, the first time in history that an American state or territory has taken this extraordinary measure, because of a $123 billion debt. Government workers are foregoing pension money; public health and infrastructure projects are not happening because of the crushing weight of debt. Now, Hurricane Maria has ripped through Puerto Rico, causing potentially thirty billion dollars in damage and threatening to exacerbate the population exodus that has helped push the island into bankruptcy. See

Troops and police officers have been sent to the British Virgin Islands, where 100 ‘very serious’ prisoners escaped from jail after hurricane Irma. Boris Johnson said the military presence there is ratcheting up now, with a thousand troops, increasing very soon to 1,250. RAF medics from RAF Brize Norton, along with British Army Engineers and Royal Marines, were deployed to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Anguilla. The Government has faced claims that the UK has done less to evacuate its citizens than other nations, and did not have the correct equipment in place to deal with hurricanes. The former attorney general of Anguilla described UK’s £32 million aid as a ‘drop in the Caribbean Sea’. Pray that during Boris Johnson’s visit to the islands, his discussions with governors and inspection of damage will help the government to evaluate the situation correctly, give survivors the appropriate resources, and start planning future responses to similar events.

Hurricane Irma only grazed Havana, but it remains largely still in the dark. It could take weeks for the power to be fully returned. The damage and loss across the Caribbean is immense. Pray for those who are now trying to return to some semblance of normality, as they pick up the pieces after the hurricane ripped through their homes and communities. Pray for well-thought-out networking between those who are working to deliver practical aid and counselling to survivors of this disaster. Pray for the availability and delivery of materials needed to reconstruct buildings. Pray for medical aid, to deal with the health issues arising from stagnant fetid water. Pray for the policing of areas where looting has been taking place. Pray for those who lived in the now non-existent fishing villages to have the help needed to restore their livelihood.

Britain's fourteen overseas territories are under UK sovereignty and jurisdiction. They are self-governing but rely on the UK for defence, security and safety - including protection from natural disasters. As Hurricane Irma bombards the Caribbean, with at least fourteen deaths so far, several of these territories have been badly hit. Anguilla has been devastated, and the small island of Barbuda is ‘barely habitable’. A state of emergency has been declared in the British Virgin Islands. The first British military relief flight left RAF Brize Norton on 8 September, and one navy ship has arrived in the region, but a second might take two weeks to arrive. Theresa May said that the Government had responded ‘swiftly’ to the disaster, but others criticised the UK’s lack of preparedness, in contrast to the French who had military on the ground in St Martin, ready to help. See