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Contact:
Claudia Monlouis
Wednesday, September 07, 2005 - One year ago today, on September 7th
2004, St. Lucia was one of many Caribbean countries in the path of a powerful
category three, hurricane Ivan.
But after the system changed course, St .Lucia was spared the worst, recording
only minimal damage.
National focus shifted quickly to Grenada which had been demolished by the
hurricane.
Director of St. Lucia’s National Emergency Management Organization Miss. Dawn
French was one of the persons instrumental in mobilising St. Lucia’s significant
role in Grenada’s recovery. She says healing process is slow as can be expected.
“The recovery as you are aware in Grenada was taken back a step when Hurricane
Emily hit but they are continuing. The St. Lucia Red Cross is collaborating with
them as far as World Cup Cricket 2007 is concerned because they are one of the
venues for Cricket World Cup. Their strategy for recovery is underway, they’ve
actually set up an office for National Reconstruction, and they have been given
a five year mandate to return the island to how it was before Ivan hit.”
Prolonged winds of about 115 miles per hour from hurricane Ivan crumbled some 89
percent of Grenada’s infrastructure and destroyed the agriculture and tourism
sectors.
Miss French says it will be years before nutmeg regains prominence as a booming
industry. “The International Federation of the Red Cross and the St. Lucia Red
Cross has begun a programme with farmers that include distributing seeds so they
could start the process of replanting but the main crop which is the nutmeg will
take a little while longer. It takes nine years for a nutmeg tree to fully
mature and start bearing.”
But optimism, she says, is growing stronger among over 89 thousand Grenadians
led by the Office of National Reconstruction. Today, Grenada is relying heavily
on tourism to continue to fuel the economy.
Grenadians remember some 28 persons who lost their lives during the passage of
the hurricane. Ms. Samantha Duncan, Administrator in the Grenada Red Cross
Office spoke to a reporter at the Government Service in Saint Lucia on the eve
of the nation’s solemn observation of Ivan’s passage
Ms Duncan says Grenadians are not the laid back people they once were, and
viewing television images of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the United
States Coast is particularly disturbing at this time.
“The mood of persons- I would say somewhat subdued because yes we have survived
a year after the hurricane; however we had Emily just in July and with the
destruction wrought by Katrina in Louisiana and other states we are still
somewhat frightened, because the hurricane season is not over and there is talk
that there’s more to come and with much greater force than there was before, so
we are still somewhat uneasy.”
The Red Cross official said official government aid has dwindled but the country
remains reliant upon donations since much help is still needed to continue
recovery efforts.
“Truth be told Ivan has been gone for a year and the media only remembers
something because of its news worthiness, so of course Grenada’s plight has not
been getting as much airplay as we would have been getting on September 8th
2004.”
She also took the opportunity to thank Saint Lucians for their invaluable
support given to Grenada.
“Well I thank you for your support because I know that St .Lucia Red Cross has
been one of our supportive Red Cross societies as well. Thank you for your
interest because it shows Caribbean integration which is something we’re all
trying to achieve now and hopefully there will not be a reoccurrence of such a
disaster.”
Hurricane Ivan, informally re-named “Ivan the Terrible”; has been permanently
struck off the Atlantic Tropical Storms Names List by the World Meteorological
Organization.
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