A Cayman Airways flight due to fly hurricane relief
supplies to St. Lucia has been delayed by a day, so donors have an extra day to
bring emergency items to the Red Cross.
The flight to St. Lucia to bring much needed
emergency relief items to victims of Hurricane Tomas was delayed and is now
expected to depart Thursday morning, Red Cross disaster manager Hemant Balgobin
said.
“The Red Cross is still accepting items, but we’ve
got enough water. We still need everything else on the list, especially
sanitary items, like diapers, and bedding,” Mr. Balgobin said.
He said donated items had been trickling in slowly,
possibly due to the short notice of the appeal. “The items are coming in
slowly, but people are still coming and bringing things by,” he said Wednesday
morning.
He added that the Cayman Islands Red Cross would
also be sending emergency supplies it has in stock to St. Lucia.
Premier McKeeva Bush appealed to the public Monday
to donate emergency items to the Red Cross on Huldah Avenue or to deliver them
to the Cayman Airways cargo facility on Airport Road.
Fourteen people were killed in St. Lucia by the
storm and others are still missing. The tiny island nation’s prime minister
estimated that it would cost $500 million to rebuild the damaged property and
infrastructure there.
Among
emergency items still needed are:
Water
purification tablets;
Dry,
preserved and canned food (especially evaporated milk);
Blankets,
sleeping bags and bedding (sheets, comforters, etc.);
Lanterns
and flashlights, with the right-sized batteries;
Small
transistor radios;
Adult
and infant disposable diapers and wipes;
Female
sanitary products;
Baby
food and formula;
Cleaning
supplies (including sanitary wipes, hand sanitiser), etc.; and
Water
containers and flasks.
The Cayman
Islands Red Cross is also accepting cash donations for people affected by Hurricane
Tomas. Contributions may be deposited in the following Bank of Butterfield
accounts: KYD 02-201-035054-05 and USD 01-201-035054-02.
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