#Nassau, September 4, 2019 – Bahamas – Officials at the Department of Social Services, Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, have been stockpiling emergency supplies since Friday (August 30) ahead of the massive relief effort expected to be undertaken in the Northern Bahamas in the wake of the monster Hurricane Dorian.
Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon.
Frankie A. Campbell, who gave the mobilization order more than 96 hours ago,
said statistics from the 2010 Survey conducted by the Department of Statistics,
indicate that more than 73,000 persons and 20,000 homes could be impacted by
Dorian which battered islands of the Northern Bahamas as a Category 5 Hurricane
– primarily Grand Bahama and Abaco.
Minister Campbell said Social Work staff across The Bahamas have
been placed on full alert in order to facilitate the role of management of the
relief effort in the Northern Bahamas, once the initial assessments have been
completed and the ‘all clear’ has been given for Emergency Responders to safely
operate in the impacted areas.
“This is a massive and unprecedented relief and recovery effort
solely because Dorian turned out to be a mammoth and unprecedented Hurricane,”
Minister Campbell said. “But despite its status, the reality is that we are
going to have to hit the ground running, working in conjunction with the
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and our other partners to ensure
that our response is immediate, efficient and effective.
“Emergency packages have already been put together by staff of the
Department of Social Services for the affected islands and include food items,
canned goods, non-perishable items, water, hygiene supplies – things that we
know our people will need in those first few hours, first few days.
“We are just waiting for the all clear. We are just awaiting to be
assured the aircraft that will be used to channel immediate relief to our
people can land; the vessels that will be used to ship immediate relief to our
people can dock in the affected islands, and these items will be on their way,”
Minister Campbell added.
Minister Campbell said based on the sample size of images on the
potential extent of the damage caused by Dorian: “it is almost certain that
there will be a significant housing need.” He said government planners will
make determinations as to whether temporary shelters can be housed on the
impacted islands, or transported elsewhere for shelter.
“For those who have no family or friends to take them in, we are
going to have to extend shelter in the short term and then move into our
mid-to-long term plan.”
Minister Campbell said the Ministry and its various Departments
and Divisions, are “absolute” in giving its best duty with regards to the role
they will be required to play as part of the overarching response to Hurricane
Dorian
“As I always indicate, we are a part of the before, during and
after team. We would have started our preparations before the Hurricane Season
approached, identifying shelters, putting teams in place and working along with
the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as an Emergency Support
Function (ESF). All of the respective islands affected by the Hurricane had
their shelters and shelter teams in place.
“The second phase of our role would be the ‘during’ which would
cover shelter management; although some of the buildings were compromised as a
result of the unprecedented magnitude of the Hurricane, we were able to
successfully transfer them [persons] to other secure spaces. Persons who made
their way to our shelters, we can account for them and they were cared for.
“But while we still have people in shelters, you would see that we are also preparing for the next phase — which is the aftermath,” Minister Campbell said.
By Matt Maura
Release: BIS
Photo Captions:
Header: Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie A. Campbell, receives a progress report on the stockpiling of relief supplies from senior staff of the Department of Social Services Monday afternoon. Pictured (from left) are: Assistant Directors, Department of Social Services, Mr. Wrensworth Butler and Mrs. Chereley Kelly. Also pictured is Mrs. Lillian Quant-Forbes, Director, the Department of Social Services whose back is to the camera.
Insert: First Responders from the Royal Bahamas Police Force arriving at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium with two shelter seekers Monday afternoon. Shelter Management Team Members from the Department of Social Services were on hand to receive the two ladies. (BIS Photo/Matt Maura)
(BIS Photo/Matt Maura)