Saint Lucia's Prime Minister prepared to support Haiti

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 – Prime Minister Stephenson King has registered his sympathy to the people of Haiti after the French speaking Caribbean nation was rocked by what has been deemed the largest earthquake to hit the Caribbean in the last 200 years.

Thousands are feared dead after the quake toppled buildings, burying residents under huge mounts of rubble.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 7.0 and was centred about 14 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

A hospital as well as the presidential palace collapsed, along with many other buildings within the capital. This, aids say, give a clear indication of the extent of the devastation within the shanty towns of Port-au-Prince.

The situation is being referred to as a new blow for a country mired in misery. Haiti in 2008, was hit by four tropical storms and hurricanes and aids say the country had not even recovered from devastation caused then.

Press secretary to the Prime Minister, Darnley Lebourne, says Prime Minister Hon. Stephenson King has pledged Saint Lucian assistance as part of a bigger effort of CARICOM.

“Government’s response has to be informed by the situation on the ground in Haiti. There are currently emergency talks between the Secretary General of CARICOM and the Chairman of CARICOM Prime Minister Roosevelt Skeritt on the situation in Haiti; based on these discussions, a decision has already been taken to send a team to Haiti to assess the situation on the ground and produce a response to the secretariat.

The government will be issuing an additional statement to address the matter of public response to the disaster and mechanism for coordination.

The specifics of Saint Lucia’s response will also be determined following receipt of the assessment report by CARICOM.

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