British officials announced Tuesday they will send US$1 million to help several Caribbean islands recover from Hurricane Dean, which lashed the region last month.
The money will go to Jamaica, Haiti, Belize, St. Lucia and Dominica to finance temporary shelters and improve sanitation, according to the British High Commission in Guyana.
France, which has several Caribbean territories, has pledged similar aid, including US$5.5 million to Martinique.
Meanwhile, the Cayman Islands is still waiting on about US$9.7 million from the European Union to help with repairs from Hurricane Ivan, which devastated Grand Cayman in September 2004.
European Union Member States approved the money for the Cayman Islands last August, but the actual receipt has been delayed several times because of bureaucratic requests.
Members of the Cayman Islands Government grew weary of waiting on the money and have allocated about CI$4 million to repair and rebuild homes damaged in Hurricane Ivan.
More than 100 homes still need repair still need repair or rebuilding on Grand Cayman.
Ivan killed 64 people in the Caribbean – mainly in Grenada and Jamaica – three in Venezuela, and 25 in the United States, including 14 in Florida. Thirty-two more deaths in the United States were indirectly attributed to Ivan. There were two direct and two indirect deaths in Cayman during and after Ivan.
The Caribbean region is at the height of hurricane season.
Two British warships will remain in the Caribbean until November, the end of hurricane season. Dean killed at least 20 people in the Caribbean and caused millions of dollars (euros) in damages.
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