While the US Southern Command continues to make headlines by destroying suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean (the latest on that at the end of this article), it has also been quite involved in the efforts to resupply and rebuild Jamaica after that island nation was devastated by Hurricane Melissa.
So far, the US Embassy in Jamaica says $12 million in US Aid has arrived, delivered by US Southern Command military and civilian personnel who have been working under the direction of the US State Department and the Jamaican government in a 24-hour relief effort.
The US relief effort began on Halloween, with the launch of three US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters from Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, to Kingston, Jamaica, and has been underway continuously since.
This massive operation comes in the wake of what was a massive hurricane. As a reminder, Melissa was the third-most intense hurricane recorded in the Atlantic basin in more than 100 years, and hit Jamaica as an extremely powerful and destructive Category 5 storm.
The storm - with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour - killed more than 30 people in Jamaica and caused an estimated 8 billion dollars of damage, which amounts to about half of that country’s GDP.
According to a letter from almost 60 US Congress Members to the US State Department in support of even more US aid to Jamaica, preliminary damage assessments indicate that:
Over 490,000 households – approximately 72% of Jamaica’s electrical grid – lost power during the storm.
In addition to at least 32 people who have lost their lives, dozens more are injured or missing as recovery teams work to reach isolated areas.
Major roads, bridges, and communication networks remain impassable in several parishes.
Hospitals and schools across the island sustained significant structural damage.
Initial estimates suggest billions of dollars in infrastructure and economic losses, particularly in tourism and agriculture, two pillars of Jamaica’s economy.
Category 5 Hurricane Melissa’s 185-mile-per-hour winds caused widespread catastrophic damage across the island nation of Jamaica. (US State Department photo)
US Aid delivered to Jamaica so far includes mobile medical units and more than 330,000 pounds of food and water moved by US military members and civilian rescue workers alongside the Jamaica Defense Force. The US Embassy says so far, hygiene kits for 60,000 people, as well as 12,000 tarps and shelter repair kits, have been delivered to the island nation.
In addition to military personnel from the US Southern Command, the U.S. State Department has flown a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) that includes members of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles County, California, to Jamaica.
In addition to specialized rescue equipment, the teams came with K-9s to help search for victims trapped under rubble.
While all this activity has been underway, it is the US Southern Command’s other ongoing operations that are continuing to make headlines: namely, the ongoing attacks of suspected drug boats in international waters of the Caribbean near Venezuela:
The attacks have claimed at least 75 lives.
Do you support sending more US disaster aid to Jamaica?
Share your opinion in the comments!
NEW FEATURE! Would you like US Border News articles to appear in your Google News feed? Click the button below!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers,
US Border News Editor
Help us recruit more free subscribers to US Border News! This post is public, so feel free to share it.
