MONDAY, the National Emergency Planning Office in Dominica met to review the extent of damage and determine the nature of assistance required in the aftermath of the quake which shook the island early Sunday morning.
Cecil Shillingford, National Disaster Co-ordinator, reported that their primary concern at the moment is getting access to and relief supplies into Grand Fonds, Good Hope and Petit Soufriere three communities that remain inaccessible since the earthquake. In addition, the co-ordinator said that engineering support is also required to conduct technical assessment of buildings, roads and areas affected by landslides.
Meanwhile, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agencys (CDERA) Co-ordinating Unit has been making arrangements in response to the country emergency. CDERAs Preparedness and Response Manager, Donovan Gentles is scheduled to hold discussions with Emergency Officials in Dominica today.
CDERA has also secured the support of the University of the West Indies who will send two engineers to assist structural damage assessments. The Agency in collaboration with USAID/OFDA and the Regional Security Systems (RSS/CLO) are finalising arrangements for accessing helicopter support for Dominica.
The Eastern Caribbean Donor Group (ECDG) met yesterday afternoon to discuss response strategies and appropriate support.
Two Japanese experts with the Caribbean Disaster Management Project (CADM) are scheduled to arrive in Dominica to begin assessing debris flows resulting from the mudslides. The Northern Section of Dominica, primarily the Portsmouth District, was severely affected by the quake, which caused serious structural damage.
Access to the area has been hampered due to blocked roads leading into Portsmouth.
This has been as a result of mudslides from the heavy rains, which have been impacting the island since last week. Approximately 1 500 persons in the communities of Petit Soufriere, Grand Fonds and Good Hope remain inaccessible and 25 persons are in shelters in Portsmouth.
On Sunday around 7:41a.m. Dominica was struck by a moderate Earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale. The epicentre of the earthquake was about 10km north of Dominica. The preliminary location for the event was 15.77°N 61.44°W. A strong aftershock followed at 09.36am. The quake was also felt in Antigua & Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts/Nevis, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines.Ç
